Panathinaikos held by 10-man Larissa
GREEK SUPERLEAGUE - MATCHDAY 18
| Panathinaikos | 1 - 1 | Larissa |
|---|---|---|
| Macheda (P) 3' | Deletic 54' |
Panathinaikos are still without a league win in 2019 after the Greens were held to a 1-1 home draw against Larissa on Sunday.
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Giorgos Donis’ team were given the perfect platform to win through Federico Macheda’s early penalty, with Larissa also reduced to 10 players in the first minute when defender Aleksandar Gojković saw red for the challenge on the home side’s Italian striker.
Bit a spirited performance from Gianluca Festa’s Vissini team earned then an equaliser in the 54th minute when Miloš Deletić struck.
It’s a result which leaves Panathinaikos languishing in seventh place on 23 points, while Larissa are ninth with 20 points.
THE MATCH
After beating Atromitos 1-0 before the winter break in impressive fashion, Panathinaikos came into the match in desperate need of rekindling that kind of form having began the year with a draw and a defeat.
And it seemed that tonight would be the perfect time to get three points thanks to Gojković’s misjudged challenge which lead to the penalty in the first minute.
After things had calmed down, Macheda stepped up to slot the ball home from 12 yards to give the home side the lead, and with a numerical advantage against Larissa, it seemed the stage was set for the Greens to go on and win.
But despite enjoying long spells of possession for the rest of the first half, the hosts struggled to create scoring chances.
Larissa dug in and actually looked more threatening in the early stages of the second half. The pressure finally produced a goal in the 54th minute when a mistake from Panathinaikos defender Thefanis Mavromatis let in Deletić, who fired home cooly to level matters,
Panathinaikos did have legitimate claims for a penalty turned down in the 87th minute as the home side sought desperately to net a winner, but Nikola Žižić’s pull on Macheda did not produce a whistle from the referee.
STARTING LINEUPS
Panathinaikos: 1 Dioudis (GK), 3 Insua, 8 Donis, 9 Macheda, 17 Emmanouilidis, 18 Bouzoukis, 21 Kourbelis, 22 Tzandaris, 24 Mavromatis, 32 Pantelakis, 78 Coulibaly
Larissa: 1 Kristinsson (GK), 7 Bargan, 8 Milosavljević, 11 Deletić, 13 Jakimovski, 16 Zizic, 17 Shikavka, 20 Karanikas, 31 Šećerović, 33 Nunic, 39 Gojković
