Panathinaikos overpower Dinamo

Panathinaikos has nearly punched its ticket into the next round of UEFA Champions League qualifying after a 3-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi tonight in Athens. A pair of goals from Dimitrios Salpingindis, and another from Andreas Ivanschitz were more than enough for the Greek side who travel to Georgia next week for the second leg of the tie.

Panathinaikos looked in command right from the start as Sotirios Ninis ripped a shot just past the 15 second mark. The vibrant start paired with an indisciplined 45 minutes from Dinamo, transpired into more and more quality chances. First Salpingidis had a hard shot pushed out for a corner, and then Swedish defender Mikael Nilsson couldn’t convert on a glorious opportunity. Another surge from Sotirios Ninis ended with Evangelos Mantzios flashing a header wide of the Dinamo goal. Panathinaikos finally broke through moments later as Ivanschitz converted a Salpingidis cross with style. It could have easily been 2-0 a mere 15 minutes later, but a shot from Salpingidis slammed the cross bar. It suddenly was 2-0 for Panathinaikos, as Salpingidis made up for his earlier miss. Ivanschitz returned the favor as the cross from the Austrian International fell to the feet of Salpingidis, who slotted home the ball.

Carrying a strong lead into the second half, Panathinaikos was on cruise control until the final whistle. Dinamo gave the home side a reality check early after the restart, but the effort from Ilija Spasojević was easily collected by goalkeeper Mario Galinović. Panathinaikos had a chance of there own at the other end, but Ivanschitz’s shot sailed over the bar. A turnover created another chance for the Greek club; once again it was Salpingidis, but this time there was no classy finish. A series of breakouts that lasted ten minutes saw both sides exchange chances. Mantzios had a shot blocked by the keeper, and a header by Spasojević just missed the Panathinaikos goal. Salpigindis slotted home his second in 74th minute, this time defender Nikos Spiropoulos played provider.

Henk Ten Cate’s men look keen to progress to the 3rd round after tonight’s stellar performance. The will now wait to confirm their spot next Wednesday in Tbilisi. Despite the tie being only half complete, it can be guaranteed that the club will have one eye on Friday’s 3rd round draw.

Panathinaikos (Henk Ten Cate): Galinović, Nilsson, Spiropoulos, Sarriegi, Vyntra, Simão, Mattos (Gabriel 46′), Salpigindis, Ivanschitz, Ninis (Christodoulopoulos 46′), Mantzios (Rukavina 80′)

Referee: Bruno Paixao (Portugal)