Panathinaikos took a 3-1 victory over PAOK at the Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens 'Spyros Louis' in the Greek Super League's regular season third round on Saturday evening. The result leaves both sides level on six points, though Panathinaikos sit fourth in the table while PAOK occupy fifth after three matches.
PAOK started brightly enough but lost composure early when Aritz Elustondo received a red card in the fifteenth minute. Andrija Živković came on for Dimitrios Pelkas shortly after, and Panathinaikos seized the momentum. Vicente Taborda found the net in the twenty-ninth minute, and Andrews Tetteh doubled the lead before half-time with a thirty-eighth minute strike.
And here's the thing — the game opened up after the break. Taborda missed a penalty in the forty-fifth minute, and by then PAOK had only managed two shots on target all evening. Giorgos Kyriakopoulos went into the book for a yellow card, but Panathinaikos were not to be denied. Tetteh scored his second in the fifty-second minute, and the visitors were reduced to ten men again when Cyriel Dessers was sent off in the sixty-ninth.
We had tipped Panathinaikos for victory, and the confidence level was thirty-seven percent. To be fair, the hosts deserved it — they created five big chances against PAOK's two, and their shots on target tally of eleven told the story better than the scoreline. PAOK's goalkeeper made eight saves, but the pressure was relentless. Panathinaikos dominated possession at seventy-one percent and launched 138 attacks compared to the visitors' 66.
PAOK managed to pull one back in the ninety-second minute through Ognjen Ugresic, but it was too little, too late. The away side had fielded eleven men for most of the match but could not find an answer to Panathinaikos' attacking shape. Both teams picked up yellow cards in the closing stages, with Etiene Camara cautioned in the eighty-eighth minute.
The result keeps Panathinaikos on course, though they remain fourth in the standings. PAOK's defeat ends their unbeaten run and leaves them with one loss from three games. The goal difference tells you everything — Panathinaikos scored three goals and conceded one, while the visitors managed a consolation goal against a team that had already put the game beyond doubt.
