There are defeats and defeats, eliminations and eliminations, but this time against Maccabi Haifa, Panathinaikos chose the toughest route to stay out of the knockout rounds again in the last 14 years, failing in a process in which everything came up seemed to be on the legs Take 3rd place and continue in the playoffs to enter the “16” of the Europa Conference League.

It is very “bitter” this exclusion and certainly a failure when you aim for two results at home, lose the inevitable ones and end up being eliminated from the game knowing such a cheap defeat.

Yes, Maccabi Haifa are a very good team and much more experienced in Europe in recent years against a Panathinaikos team that had been off the European map for five years, but this game should have put it to the test.” And he did did not make it…

He failed because once again he had to pay dearly for every mistake he made. Every “chaff” in defense (the excellent Vagiannidis slipped later in the game in the 0-2 phase), every bad calculation (Lodingin’s bad reaction to Kornud’s cross at 0-1).

In each of their last four games in the group stage they were constantly chasing the score early and through their own mistakes, while up front they failed to convert their own chances into goals but failed to fully capitalize on the mistakes they made his opponents did it too.

And as Ivan Jovanovic rightly pointed out in the post-match press conference, with so many goals at this level you can’t be lucky and make the difference.

Panathinaikos could and should have had much better luck in this series of games in the 6th group of the Europa League.

At least after the summer qualifiers he did and the expectations he raised. He wasn’t heartbreaking on the field. He did not experience a run like the 2014/15 or 2016/17 season, where the opponents made him the target of their desires.

Otherwise, he “fought” all his matches, but with the mistakes he made, he constantly chased after his opponents, which could not make him the winner, because the handicap that was forming put him in a very difficult position.

He must find him more ready everywhere

I don’t know if everything that happened in the Europa League group this year will be a lesson for Panathinaikos. They will certainly help him understand that he still has a long way to go before he returns to much more normal standards (and) in Europe.

And it has to become much tougher, much more cynical and decidedly more effective. So that he doesn’t do justice to himself and his commitment on the field.

The development process is not a sprint, but a marathon, but Panathinaikos should be much better prepared for the next trip to Europe in the 2024/25 season. In every level. And most importantly, a clear mind and an understanding of how to get what he can get on the field.

Until then he has to get back on his feet very quickly. It’s not easy… The “shock” is strong and especially the way this exclusion came about, but the season still has a long way to go and the next day Panathinaikos must be ready to overcome this bitterness that the Having to cope emotionally and competitively with exclusion leaves him.

There is a very important game in Peristeri on Sunday (17/12) and Panathinaikos needs to come back and win to stay at the top of the table.

To regain his faith, his grip and his self-confidence to win the national titles at a time when the national competition will become even tougher…