Panathinaikos was pure magic in the last game of the League Phase of the Conference League! The Greens played amazingly, completely dominated the field, scored four beautiful goals, emphatically defeated Dynamo Minsk 4-0 and solemnly sealed their ticket to the play offs of the competition. Rui Vitoria’s team was a real treat in a game that combined goals, spectacle, opportunities and substance.
Before the kick-off, the Greens only needed one point to qualify, but they aimed to win with as many goals as possible in order to improve their standings. And the job was done in the most satisfying way and four wonderful goals: two from Tete and one from Jeremejeff – after wonderful teamwork and great finishing – and one more from Ioannidis, who after the incredible goal he scored last summer against Lens, added to his list of magical goals that will be remembered for decades, like that unforgettable lob by Eki Gonzalez against Arsenal twenty years ago! Panathinaikos finally finished in the 13th place in the League Phase of the Conference and in the play-offs on February 13 and 20, 2025, the team will face Vikingur from Iceland. , after a draw which took place last Friday (20/12).
The Shamrock entered the field with seriousness and momentum, aiming for a clear and wide victory. And after creating three great opportunities, in the 12th minute with Tete and in the 14th and 16th minutes with Maksimovic, they opened the scoring with the completion of the first half hour. In the 33rd minute the ball… was lost in the combination of Ounahi with Kotsiras and Jeremejeff. The Moroccan midfielder opened the game, the Greek full-back provided the assist and the Swedish forward executed flawlessly for the 1-0, which did not change until the end of the half as in the 40th minute the Greens missed a huge opportunity with Tete. In the only moment when Dynamo threatened, Lodygin was on hand to block Kulikov’s free kick.
With the same and even greater appetite for goals and spectacle, Rui Vitoria’s players entered the second half. Somehow, the second goal was not long in coming as in the 54th minute the Greens played a quick counterattack. Unai made an excellent pass for Tete, who immediately scored with his right foot, making it 2-0.
Dynamo tried to react with Pigas hitting the post in the 57th minute, but Panathinaikos scored a third goal. In the 65th minute, the ball… was hidden again. Tete started his action from the center. He exchanged nicely with Ounahi, who marked Djuricic in the heart of the area. The Serb laid the ball for Tete with one pass, who made an amazing dribble and executed it again with his right foot for 3-0. He scored for the second time in the match and eighth of the season!
In the 79th minute, Dynamo had a threatening shot by Lopez that found the outside of Lodygin’s post, while in the 84th minute, Tete had a great chance to score a hat-trick. He was the one who was brought down in the area by Lopes and the referee, after a VAR intervention, saw the moment on video and awarded the penalty. However, the Brazilian was defeated by Lapoukov, who blocked it.
However, only a few seconds passed and Ioannidis scored an incredible goal. The pressure of Bakasetas high up the pitch forced Amiens to make a turn back. Fotis stole the ball and pushed it forward with an incredible heel. Seeing goalkeeper Lapoukov far from his goal, the captain caught an incredible lob from 40 meters and sent the ball into the net for the final 4-0. He scored for the third consecutive match after the goals he scored against New Saints and Levadiakos. At the same time, he completed ten goals with the Panathinaikos jersey in the European Cups.
In the last minutes of the match, Rui Vitoria used 18-year-old Adriano Bregu as a substitute, who made his professional debut with Panathinaikos.
Panathinaikos: Lodygin, Kotsiras, Max (63’ Mladenovic), Jedvaj, Ingason, Arao (72’ Bakasetas), Maksimovic, Ounahi (89’ Bregou), Tete, Djuricic (72’ Mancini), Jeremejeff (72’ Ioannidis).
Dinamo Minsk: Lapukov, Pigas, Gavrilovich, Zherdev (68′ Okorov), Podstrelov, Kulikov (61′ Amiens), Kalinin (68′ Sedko), Lopez, Begunov, Melnichenko (85′ Kvaskinsky), Demchenko (68′ Skolyk).