He passed like a siphon from Philippopolis for… Apostolo Nikolaidis Panathinaikos! In the soil where the “patriarch” of the association was born, the “greens” set up a party against Botev which they tied with four goals (0-4) taking the qualification to the third qualifying round of the Europa League, where the Ajax!
His team is highly efficient Diego Alonsohe didn’t leave any room for the hosts who he stuck to the wall early on with his goal Geremegev at 6′. He scored so did Djuricic from the first half with Geremegev to complete his convincing performance with another goal early in the second half!
Debut for Tete who replaced Mancini in the 63′ and nearly scored an assist on two occasions, but one Sporar and the other o Limnios they failed to score.
Panathinaikos awaits Ajax at OAKA on August 8, in the context of the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
In the minds of the coaches:
With a more compact shape Botev in relation to the first match as Dusan Kerkez chose a trio in defense. Bernat at home with Conte, Tam, Diabate as stoppers and Mlinkov, Balogiannis on the wings. Eto and Perera the two defensive midfielders and Popov behind Nwachukwu and Utza.
For Panathinaikos o Diego Alonso it didn’t change with the Uruguayan opting for it 4-2-3-1. Dragovski in goal, with Kochira, Ingason, Jedvai and Mladenovic in the defensive four. Arao in a defensive midfield role with Cerin and Bakaseta on the axis. In attack the trio did not change with Mancini on the right, Djuricic on the left and Geremegev up top.
The match:
The beginning of the match at “Hristo Botev” began with Panathinaikos having possession of the ball and trying to find a quick goal by playing vertically, but also with speed of the ball. Diego Alonso’s team made their first visit to Botev’s frame in the 6th minute and that was enough to change the image of the match.
Bakasetas took the ball on the axis and passed it to Djuriciche saw the overlap of Mladenovic who stepped into the area from the left, turned the ball, where the Geremegev with flawless placement he defeated Bernat for the 0-1!
The quick goal of Panathinaikos forced the home team to take measures on the pitch, without however threatening Dragovski’s goal. Dusan Kerkez’s team mainly tried with deep balls to create conditions in the area of Panathinaikos and 27′ he almost succeeded. THE Balogiannis cross from the left Jedvai heads it out, the ball goes outside the box to Minkoff who shoots and sends the ball over Dragovski’s crossbar!
Botev’s pressure lasted for a few more minutes, but it… benefited Panathinaikos. And that’s because after a corner from the home team, the ball left Dragovski’s area with Djuricic receiving it, who went up and earned a foul and the card from Nwachukwu in position outside left.
From the execution of Bakasseta, Diomande moved away to where the Djuricic with an excellent shot with an outside crease, but also with the help of Utza who found the ball, he made it 2-0 for the “clover” and the case of qualification, simpler!
The psychology of Panathinaikos rose to the heights and in the 39th minute they almost made it 3-0. THE amazing Djuricic he took the ball again from the left, fed Bacacheta on the axis and he with a terrible right shot “jerked” the crossbar of Bernat and went out.
However, what the captain of our National team failed to do at that point, he did Filip Djuricic! His bad reaction Diabate the ball reached Geremegev who with his head fed Mancini on the right and he “served” the 3-0 to Djuricic, closing the first part for the “clover” in the most ideal way.
Panathinaikos made a change in the second half, after Alonso preferred to protect Jedvai who had received a yellow card and replaced him with Maksimovich. The way he ended the first half for Panathinaikos was the same way he opened the second!
Due to constant pressure from the “trefoil” players, o Kotsiras passed perpendicularly to Geremegev, he slotted the ball beautifully over Bernat, but the goal was initially ruled out for offside. However after checking it was found that the Swede was in normal position and so he was properly credited for it 4-0!
Of course, the match had acquired a procedural character with Botev trying to score at least the goal of honor in front of its fans.
But again Panathinaikos was the one who missed a great moment to score. Terrible dribble by Cerin and cooperation with Mladenovic, the ball passed to Mancini, he tried to pass it to him, the ball countered and he went to… hang Bernat, who with one hand drove away!
The two coaches made changes with Diego Alonso giving Tete playing time. The Brazilian tried to show his credentials and in the 74th minute he almost got his first assist. Arao fed him with a deep ball, he dribbled, slipped, but passed to Geremegev, the Swede scored from the height of the penalty, but Bernat denied him the hat trick!
The game went on with Botev trying to find the net in the 77th minute with a shot by Nwatsouvos which was saved by Dragovski, while in the 86th minute the “greens” came very close to 5-0 when Limnios from Tete’s vertical shot failed to defeat Bernat.
At the end of the match, Sporar, who came on a little earlier in place of Geremegev, in turn missed another opportunity, when from a new wonderful header by Tete, he crossed with Bernat making the last save of the match that ended with an emphatic 4-0 in favor of Panathinaikos!
MVP: Striker Alexander Geremegev scored his third goal in two matches against Botev and is largely credited with qualifying!
The “whistle”: An easy night for him Daniel Slager in Bulgaria. The German technician, excellent in disciplinary control, but also in the other areas. He got the right advice and scored Geremeev’s goal for Panathinaikos’ 4-0.
The elevens of the match
Botev Plovdiv (Kerkez): Bernat, Conte, Tam, Diabate (46′ Akere), Balogiannis (59′ Yordanov, 64′ Karabeliov), Eto’o, Perera, Popov (46′ Korosets), Minkoff, Nwachukwu, Oudza (44′ Sekulic).
Panathinaikos (Alonso): Dragovski, Mladenovic, Jedvai (46′ Maksimovic), Ingason, Kotsiras, Arau, Cerin (73′ Zeka), Bakasetas, Djurisic (73′ Limnios), Mancini (61′ Tete), Geremegev (79′ Sporar).
Source: Sport Fm
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