Panathinaikos made a perfect start to 2026, defeating Panserraikos 3-0 at the OAKA in their first match of the new year. The Greens dominated the pitch and secured a comfortable victory, while also taking plenty of positives ahead of a demanding run in the league, the Cup and Europe.
Andreas Tetei made his debut in the green shirt, delivering a very solid performance, while Pelistri, Kyriakopoulos and Renato Sanches returned to action after injury, all getting minutes from Rafa Benitez in order to regain match fitness.
At the same time, the match against Panserraikos was a special milestone for Giannis Kotsiras and Adam Cerin, who both reached 150 appearances wearing the Panathinaikos shirt.
Panathinaikos looked for a goal from the very first second and struck early. Ivan hugged and brought down Touba inside the box, VAR called referee Katoikos for an on-field review and a penalty was awarded. In the 4th minute, Djuricic took the spot kick; Tsobanidis guessed correctly and saved to his right, but the Greens’ captain followed up and opened the scoring. It was his fifth goal of the season and his 20th in all competitions for the club.
The Greens did not slow down and scored again after fifteen minutes. Calabria combined with Djuricic and, just before finishing, was brought down by Tsaousis. Another penalty was given, and Zaroury converted to make it 2-0 in the 15th minute with his fifth goal of the season.
Panathinaikos came close to scoring on two more occasions through Pelistri (20’) and Zaroury (24’), before making it 3-0 in the first half with Jedvaj. In the 39th minute, following a corner taken by Cerin with a short pass, Zaroury delivered a fine cross and the Croatian defender dominated in the air to score with a powerful header.
Tetei was very active on his debut and had three big chances to score within four minutes in the second half: in the 53rd minute with a header that went wide, in the 56th with a powerful shot from the edge of the box, and in the 57th with another header. However, Tsobanidis denied him with two impressive saves, preventing his first goal in green. Bokos also came close to scoring his first professional goal in the 80th minute with a header that went just wide.
In the 86th minute, Panserraikos were reduced to ten men after De Marco was sent off with a second yellow card.
Panathinaikos: Kotsaris, Kotsiras, Calabria, Jedvaj (86’ Ingason), Touba, Chirivella (80’ Siopis), Cerin, Pelistri (66’ Bokos), Zaroury (80’ Kyriakopoulos), Djuricic (66’ Renato Sanches), Tetei.
Panserraikos: Tsobanidis, Lyratzis (58’ Ouaage), Tsaousis, Feltes, De Marco, Liasos, Omoenga (46’ Doiranlis), Nuneli (46’ Gelashvili), Brooks, Sofianos (58’ Karelis), Ivan (77’ Maskanakis).
