Panathinaikos secured a comfortable 3-1 victory over Kifisia at the Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens on Thursday evening. The result came in the opening match of the Regular Season for the Super League 1. The hosts took all three points thanks to goals from Kangwa, Theodoridis and Taborda.
Kings Kangwa opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, and Panathinaikos controlled proceedings from that point. Clément Jolibois picked up a yellow card in the 11th minute before Tiago Manso followed in the 47th. Etiene Camara was cautioned for the home side in the 56th minute, and the visitors added Jeremy Antonisse and Bernardo Martins to their disciplinary tally.
And here's the thing about matches like this — the red card changed everything. Jolibois was sent off in the 63rd minute, and Panathinaikos immediately went on the attack. Dimitrios Theodoridis doubled the lead in the 74th minute before Vicente Taborda converted a penalty in the 81st minute. Kifisia had already turned to their substitutes, bringing on Gerson Liliano Saches Sousa and Ioannis Kousoulos in the 58th minute, then Ángelo Sagal and Jorge Pombo after the dismissal.
Kifisia got a consolation through Elmin Rastoder in the 90+1st minute, but the damage was done. Andrews Tetteh replaced Kangwa in the 60th minute, and Levi García came on for Panathinaikos in the 85th minute. By then the game was beyond Kifisia's reach.
to be fair, the statistics tell the story clearly. Panathinaikos held 66 per cent possession and registered eight shots on target compared to four for the visitors. The hosts earned 11 corners while Kifisia managed just one. Panathinaikos also had 18 fouls against them, while the visitors committed 14.
The result moves Panathinaikos further clear in third place with seven points from three matches. Kifisia remain in 10th position with only two points after three games, their sole defeat coming against Panathinaikos this time.
