Panathinaikos were held to a 1-1 draw by CSKA 1948 at the Olympic Stadium (OAKA) in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League third qualifying round tie. The Greens were unable to overcome CSKA 1948 in the opening encounter and will now travel to Sofia next Tuesday (11 August), where qualification for the next round will be decided.
Although Panathinaikos took the lead through Jagusic, they were unable to protect their advantage and will need to be more clinical in the return leg if they are to continue their European campaign.
The opening 25 minutes were evenly contested, with CSKA 1948 sitting deep, closing down the spaces and limiting Panathinaikos’ attacking threat. The Bulgarian side created the first clear chance in the 19th minute when Meyer fired narrowly wide, but the Greens responded immediately. Two minutes later, Antino delivered a magnificent right-footed cross into the heart of the penalty area, where Jagusic timed his run perfectly and powered a superb header into the net to make it 1-0.
Panathinaikos came close to doubling their advantage in the 26th minute when De Vrij unleashed a powerful volley from outside the box, only for the CSKA goalkeeper to produce an outstanding save and tip the ball over the crossbar. Instead of 2-0, however, the visitors equalized in the 31st minute as Rusev finished following a prolonged scramble inside the Panathinaikos penalty area. Despite the home side’s efforts, the score remained 1-1 until half-time.
The second half began with Rastoder threatening within the opening minute after the restart, while CSKA replied in the 58th minute through Rusev. On that occasion, Penia produced an excellent one-on-one save to keep the scores level.
Despite Jacob Neestrup making several substitutions in an attempt to inject fresh energy into the team, Panathinaikos struggled to create clear opportunities. CSKA, meanwhile, came closest to finding a winner when Gasevic struck the crossbar with a powerful effort in the 82nd minute.
The match ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning Panathinaikos will head to Sofia next Tuesday knowing that qualification for the play-off round will be decided away from home.
Panathinaikos: Pena, Tsapras (85′ Katris), Kyriakopoulos, De Vrij, Van Drongelen, Camara (67′ Cerin), Chirivella, Jagusic (85′ Kontouris), Pellistri (60′ Taborda), Andino (67′ Zaroury), Rastoder.
CSKA 1948: Marinov, Medina, Hofmann, Dvali, Gašević, Maciel, Cuéllar (73′ Franco), Zemzemi, Rusev, Meyer, A. Iliev (66′ Diallo).
