Under the heavy shadow of the loss of Vasilis Daniil, Panathinaikos’ legendary coach, the Greens were on fire at Leoforos, where they secured a convincing 4–1 win over OFI. In a postponed match from the first round of the championship, the Greens were storming, played excellent football, scored four beautiful goals through Jedvaj, Renato, Andino and Zaroury, and reached a comfortable and entertaining victory, their third consecutive in the Stoiximan Super League.
Panathinaikos took advantage of the momentum of the past few weeks, entered the pitch at full speed and scored before the first ten minutes were completed. In the 7th minute, after a fine free-kick delivery by Bakasetas, Jedvaj dominated in the air and with a superb header opened the scoring, finding the net for the fourth time in this season’s league.
The Greens, who completely dominated the field, scored again after 15 minutes. Following a steal by Bakasetas, the ball reached Tetteh, who carried it forward, moved parallel to the edge of the penalty area and at the right moment laid it off for Renato. The Portuguese midfielder struck a fantastic low and powerful long-range shot, sending the ball perfectly into Christogeorgos’ right corner for 2–0. It was Renato’s first goal with the Shamrock shirt.
In the 20th minute, Rafa Benítez made a forced substitution due to an injury to Ingason after a strong challenge by Salcedo, which was not punished with a yellow card. A similar incident had previously occurred with a harsh challenge by Nuss on Katris. Zaroury, who replaced Ingason, moved to the right wing, while Katris shifted to the center of the defense.
Panathinaikos maintained full control and came close to a third goal in the 24th minute after a quick transition, a cross by Kyriakopoulos from the left and a header by Taborda that forced Christogeorgos into an impressive save.
Against the run of play and without having threatened earlier, OFI reduced the score (2–1) in the first minute of stoppage time of the first half (45+1’) with a delicate touch by Salcedo inside the six-yard box after a cross by Athanasiou.
The second half began with a goal for Panathinaikos following a fine attacking move. In the 51st minute, Andino and Tetteh combined beautifully, with the Greens striker setting up Renato, who attempted to finish but was blocked. Andino, however, followed up the play and scored his first goal in Greece.
In the 52nd minute Nuss threatened with a powerful shot but Lafont was alert, while in the 54th and 72nd minutes Christogeorgos saved two strong shots by Kyriakopoulos. In the 73rd minute Tetteh came very close to scoring after an incredible individual effort, but OFI’s goalkeeper cleared the ball with his foot, while he also denied Sissoko with a strong shot in the 82nd minute.
The match ended perfectly for Panathinaikos with an incredible curling left-footed shot by Zaroury from the edge of the penalty area in the 86th minute. It was the Moroccan winger’s seventh goal of the season, a beautiful strike and the ideal finale to an entertaining match.
Before the kickoff, a minute of silence was observed in memory of Panathinaikos’ legendary coach Vasilis Daniil, who passed away.
Panathinaikos: Lafont, Ingason (20’ Zaroury), Jedvaj, Hernández, Katris, Kyriakopoulos, Bakasetas, Renato Sanches (64’ Sissoko), Taborda (75’ Djuricic), Andino (75’ Pellistri), Tetteh (75’ Pandovic).
OFI: Christogeorgos, Kostoulas (73’ Poungouras), Lampropoulos, Krizmanic, Shengelia (74’ Theodosoulakis), Athanasiou (87’ Chatzitheodoridis), Androutsos, Kanellopoulos (46’ Bainovic), Fountas (73’ Iseka), Nuss, Salcedo.
