Panathinaikos did the job in Peristeri, who beat Atromitos 2-1 with an upset for the third matchday of the League Phase of the Greek Cup and made it 2/2 in the competition.
Second consecutive win for Rafa Benitezwho chose to line up the “greens” with trio in the stoppersgave playing time to several players and saw his team react properly after his goal Baku.
THE Padovic “popped” with a beautiful finish, o Mladenovic signed the overthrow, while o Chiriveya he was again the maestro of the midfield with two assists. Very good performance from him too Bregu.
In the… minds of the coaches:
THE Leonidas Vokolos lined up Atromitos with 5-4-1. Koselef started under the posts, with Karamanis in the role of right back, Papadopoulos on the left and Moude, Stavropoulos and Tsakmakis as stoppers. Tsingaras and Mihorl the duo in midfield, with Aitor Garcia on the right “wing”, Baku on the left and Tsadila at the top of the attack.
On the other hand, Rafa Benitez chose 3-5-2 and Lafon under the goalposts. The trio of stoppers consisted of Jedvai, Palmer-Brown and Fikay, with Mancini covering the entire right side and Mladenovic the left. A midfield trio of Chirivella, Bregu and Renato Sanchez, with Tamborda playing just behind the promoted Padovic.
The match:
Panathinaikos started with enthusiasm and this was reflected by the fast circulation. The trio in the midfield worked well, with Chirivella in the role of organizer and Bregu-Sanchez treading territory. The “greens” kept the ball and had transferred the game to the half of Atromitos, who had a passive role in the first minutes.
The first good moment did not take long to come, with him Renato Sanchez to find the crossbar in the 13th minute after a nice collaboration by his teammates. Quick exchange of the ball inside the home team’s area, with Bregu to lay out to Sanchez, whose shot from the semi-circle hit Koselev’s crossbar and went wide.
Five minutes later the “clover” missed a great chance again with him Sanchez. This time after nice balls of Chiriveya on the back of the defense of Atromitos, o Padovic he entered the area from the left and at the right moment laid on the Portuguese midfielder who made a vertical move, but he could not beat Koselev from close range. Although Padovic was flagged for offside at the start of the period, the decision would have been overturned by VAR.
From then on the Greens became more hasty with Chirivella searching with great frequency with long balls to either Padovic or Mladenovic and Mancini. The plan was not working, with Atromitos starting to gain meters progressively and static phases. Yes, from a corner he succeeded and opened the scoringwhen in the 36th minute the home team’s players played… volleyball in the Panathinaikos area, the Stavropoulos with a header at the first post he found the all alone Baku in the second and he opened the scoring in Peristeri, with the “greens” failing to threaten effectively from that point until the break.
With the beginning of the second part o Rafa Benitez passed Siopis in the place of Sanchez, while Mutousami also entered the place of Papadopoulos on the part of Atromitos. Panathinaikos was lucky to take the lead in its first visit to the hosts’ goal in the second half. At 50′ Chiriveya he pinched the ball nicely and got four fours Padovicwho turned his body correctly and coolly slotted past Koselev for 1-1.
The game continued in the same pattern, with Panathinaikos either playing vertically or searching with deep balls for the movements of the half-backs or Padovic in the back of the defense. The common denominator is Chirivella, who “ran” the entire game of Benitez’s team. In the 67th minute, the Spanish midfielder created the second goal for the “greens”, when he found the ball with Mladenovicwho made good first contact and with a lob beat Koselev for the overthrow.
Atromitos then took control of the match with Panathinaikos retreating and with Jubitana to have assumed a role of creator the home team tried to threaten. In the 76th minute, Peristeriotes missed their biggest chance, when Jubitana found him Cricket on the back of the defense, but Lafon defeated him in a four-way tieas he did in the shot of Tsadila who took the rebound and executed. Vokolos’ team intensified its pressure, but failed to equalize and thus Panathinaikos made it 2/2 in the Cup, also during the Rafa Benitez era.
MVP: O Pedro Chiriveya he was the brain of Panathinaikos for another match, he made two assists and did not stop directing his teammates.
The “whistle”: Good refereeing by him Tsakalideswho decided correctly in the critical phases and did not need the intervention of the VAR.
The elevens:
Fearless (Leonidas Vokolos): Koselef, Karamanis, Moudes, Stavropoulos, Tsakmakis, Papadopoulos (46′ Moutousami), Tsingaras, Mihorl, Aitor Garcia (62′ Yubitana), Baku, Tsandilas.
Panathinaikos (Rafa Benitez): Lafon, Jedvai, Palmer-Brown, Fikai (86′ Zeka), Mancini, Mladenovic, Chirivella, Renato Sanchez (46′ Siopis), Bregu (81′ Nikas), Tamborda (64′ Tete), Padovic (81′ Geremegev).
Remember the match LIVE HERE.
Source: Sport Fm
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