Panathinaikos took two hard hits in Portugal but proved once again that it’s too hard to die, that they have strong metal, that they have seven hearts and that they are more determined than ever to get into the Champions League after 13 years -Groups return years.

And that’s because despite having a weak second half and seeing Ruith and Jalo punish his mistakes and defeat Brignoli twice, he rose off the canvas and Braga “answered” in the final, with Mancini in the fifth of eight minutes of added time to write the final 2-1, with the Greens losing but having every reason to dream of a big upset next Tuesday (8/29) in front of full OAKA.

A change from Jovanovic regarding the velodrome

A side that… qualifies (against a famous opponent like Marseille) doesn’t change and with that in mind, Ivan Jovanovic trusted 10 of the 11 players he’d picked to start at the Velodrome with just one new person in of eleven palasios instead of verbic.

In fact, the Serbian coach placed the Argentine at the right end of the greens’ attack, with Mancini moving to the left flank where Verbic had played in last Tuesday’s away game against Phokaeis.

Panathinaikos was impressive in the first 15 minutes

Panathinaikos entered the pitch with 100% concentration and the first quarter belonged to Ivan Jovanovic’s side, dominating both sides of the pitch. It was only in the 2nd minute that he had a great chance to take the lead, but Magnusson’s header (from a fine Perez cross) went just wide of the left post, while a minute later Palacios’ shot from the box went wide.

In the 8th minute, Mancini maneuvered well into the box and sent the ball to the left post, but was barely visible once he gained possession, but came into action in the 13th minute when the Greens threatened from a set piece and Magnusson’s free kick sent the ball wide.

All this time, Jovanovic’s players pushed hard on their opponents and disrupted their traffic, while on the other side they rampaged mostly from the right and Vagianidis was in great shape until the 16th minute when Braga woke up with a penalty succeeded… was not awarded.

Bruma fooled the referee but not the VAR

Vagianidis tagged Bruma in Panathinaikos’ penalty area and Referee Zweier initially showed the cue ball, but the VAR man invited him to look at the stage with a different opinion, so he reversed his original decision and saw Bruma’s offensive foul, which came out on Vagianidis was.

This phase, during which they had to wait nearly five minutes to be controlled, saw the pace of the game slow and the Shamrocks had their second big chance of the first half when Palasios entered the penalty area in the 30th minute on the right , but sent the ball over the outbound Mateus, which blocked his field of view.

From that point Braga had the ball in front of their feet and increased their possession, seizing the opportunity to gain meters up and into the Panathinaikos penalty area and having their first dangerous moment of the first in the 45+3 minute Halftime Perez counters Andre Horta’s shot and the ball goes to the corner.

Disastrous start to the second part

Braga didn’t really threaten in the first half but from the 30th minute they were in control with possession, which gave Artur Jorge’s men confidence as they charged in the opening minutes of the second half and put the Greek side under pressure .

In the 48th minute, Brignoli made his first major intervention of the game, saving Abel Ruith’s shot from the top of the box in a corner, only to make it 1-0 three minutes later.

Once again the home side moved from the left, with Bruma spinning the ball high into the box, Ricardo Horta letting the ball pass under his feet and Ruith defeating the Italian goalkeeper with a curvaceous shot from the semi-circle.

This goal caused euphoria in the Portuguese and disappointment in the players of Panathinaikos. For the next ten minutes, Braga took full control of the center and transferred the pressure to the green penalty areas while the Greek team’s players failed to save the ball.

An opportunity not to be missed by Sporar…

They didn’t allow another big chance and had a huge chance to equalize in the 62nd minute, but Sporar missed it, after a great individual performance by Mancini he couldn’t put the ball into the goalkeeper’s net – goal undefended. by sending the ball over the bar with a penalty kick from inside the penalty area.

Immediately following this stage, the two coaches implemented corrective action, with Bernard and Ioannidis coming on for Panathinaikos (replacing Djuricic and Sporar respectively), but Artur Jorge’s replacement, Tzalo, proved golden.

…and punishment from Tzalos

And that’s because the Panathinaikos defense was caught sleeping in the 75th minute when Jevdai lost the ball from a cross and served Ricardo Horta to Tzalo, who took advantage of the disorganization of the greens up front and chipped in with an elusive right-footed shot Brignoli (2-0).

In the sequel, the two coaches made more changes and the game resembled a chess game where Panathinaikos went forward hoping to score and Braga played to secure the precious 2-0 but a dangerous game as the save of Brignoli showed tune in the 90+4 minute to beat Ronnie Lopez in four shots.

Mancini found the net and redeemed the shamrock

But Panathinaikos didn’t say his last word and just like in ‘Velodrome’ they knew their opponents in Portugal and scored a goal in added time. This time it was Daniel Mancini who was the hero on the greens. The Argentinian winger received a wonderful vertical pass from Fotis Ioannidis, running towards Mateus to defeat him with a penalty and make it 2-1. He prepared the final, scored a goal and triggered the rematch in Athens in six nights.

The identity of the race

• Braga 2-1 Panathinaikos
• Field: “Estadio Municipal de Braga
• Scorer: Abel Ruith (51′), Jalo (73′), Mancini (90+5′)
• Yellow: Djuricic (8′), Niakate (45+5′), Fonte (53′), Arao (84′)

• BRAGA: Mateus, Gomes, Fonte, Niacate, Marin, Al Musrati (36′ Andre Horta), Pizzi (66′ Jalo), Carvalho, Ricardo Horta (85′ Rony Lopez), Ruith (86′ Banza), Bruma (86′ Lock)
• PANATHINAICOS: Brignoli, Vagianidis, Gevdai, Magnusson, Huancar, Perez (82′ Arao), Djuricic (65′ Bernard), Vilena (76′ Cerin), Palasios (76′ Aitor), Sporar (66′ Ioannidis), Mancini