Unlucky Greens beaten by Xanthi
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 6
Panathinaikos’ inconsistent Super League form continued on Saturday as the Greens slipped to a 1-0 home defeat by high-flying Xanthi, with Kiko Raimerz’s team claiming a priceless away win thanks to Jordan Faucher’s late goal in added time.
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Faucher scored in the third minute of injury time, and despite initially being ruled out for offside it was reinstated following a VAR review.
THE MATCH
After last weekend’s encouraging display in the 1-0 win over Panionios, Panathinaikos came into the match in buoyant mood looking to build up a head of stream against a Xanthi team which has started the season impressively.
They were faced with a seemingly tougher task against second-placed Xanthi, who started the day just a point behind leaders Olympiacos.
But the home side took the initiative and dominated proceedings in a one-sided first-half. However, the Greens’ play in the final third and creative had much to be desired, with the visitors from the North easily managing to prevent PAO from creating dangerous chances.
And so that pattern continued for the remainder of the opening 45 minutes with both sides at 0-0 heading into the dressing rooms.
Thankfully the second half proved a bit more of a spectacle, with both sides pushing for a goal that would probably see whoever scored it go on to win what was a closely-contested encounter.
The question was who was it going to be to break the deadlock? It could and should have been Xanthi in the 53rd minute when William De Amorim broke clear on a quick counter attack, but his shot was a tame one and Panathinaikos goalkeeper Socratis Dioudis breathed a sigh of relief as the ball flew wide.
Panathinaikos responded in the 72nd minute, when it was the Greens’ turn to threaten a goal. Substitute Juan Jose Perea’s poor shot found its way into the path of Ghayas Zhahid, but he failed to beat Xanthi ‘keeper Carlos Abad who parried the ball behind for a corner.
Next it was Xanthi who managed to fashion a chance, and what a great opportunity it was for the visitors to break the deadlock. Fabio Sturgeon produced a perfect cross for the on-rushing
Jordan Faucher to score, but the Frenchman fired over the crossbar when he really should have found the back of the net.
The 27-year-old made up for that miss, however, in the third minute of added time when he grabbed the winner for the visitors to sink Panathinaikos’ spirits. Fauchet received the ball 12 yards out and netted with a clinical finish. At first the effort was ruled out for offside, but after a VAR review the goal was reinstated and the match ended 1-0 to Xanthi.
STARTING LINEUPS
PAO: 1 Dioudis (GK), 2 Johansson, 3 Insua, 5 Schenkeveld, 7 Kolovos, 8 Donis, 10 Zahid, 12 Chatzitheodoridis, 18 Bouzoukis, 21 Kourbelis, 44 Pougouras
Xanthi: 1 Abad (GK), 7 Sturgeon, 23 Malezas, 9 Kovacevic, 88 Rennella, 75 Moulin, 25 Sosa, 91 De Amorim, 4 Karasalidis, 2 Dyrestam, 28 Terki Mehdi
HIGHLIGHTS
