Joseba Llorente struck to help Villarreal qualify for the last eight of the Champions League at the expense of Panathinaikos after an excellent win in Athens.
The former Valladolid striker struck 20 minutes from time after Evangelos Mantzios had canceled out Ariel Ibagaza's stunning opener, and it was a win that was completely deserved on the balance of the tie.
First half
Manuel Pellegrini knew that his side had to come to Greece and score, and as a result his starting line-up was a positive one. Nihat Kahveci made a welcome return to partner Giuseppi Rossi in attack, with former Real Mallorca playmaker Ariel Ibagaza supporting from the left and Santi Cazorla bursting forward from the right.
The atmosphere was understandably intense and partisan in the early exchanges, but with an air of caution, that an away goal for the Spaniards would alter the entire aspect of the tie. Petty fouls and trite playacting, particularly from Giorgos Karagounis, typified the scrappy nature of the play, with neither side wanting to commit too much too early in the tie.
Nihat had the first effort on goal, which took a full 20 minutes to arrive. After a neat passing move that included Joan Capdevilla and Rossi, the Turkish international drilled a low strike but it was easily gathered by Mario Galinovic. However, it represented the first foray forward from El Submarino Amarillos.
On the half hour Italian Rossi had not one, but two shots brilliantly blocked on the edge of the area by Loukas Vyntra, just as he had done in the first leg, and then Ibagaza skipped a slide-rule pass through to Nihat but his effort was tame.
Villarreal were forced into an unexpected change when Angel left the field to be replaced by Javi Venta, then came the most controversial moment of the half.
Nihat broke down the left for the visitors and played a low ball into the feet of Rossi in the center. His touch meant the ball skipped up into the air, but when Vyntra attempted to nod the ball back to his goalkeeper, Ibagaza nipped in to prod the ball home. Pellegrini celebrated from the touchline, but his joy was short-lived – the referee had blown for a push by Rossi on Vyntra. It was a foul that no-one else in the ground witnessed, and Panathinaikos escaped for the time being.
Evangelos Mantzios was the danger-man for the Shamrocks, as he was in the first leg, and he squandered the best chance of the half just before the break. He dashed onto a through pass and when one-on-one with Diego Lopez fired in a powerful left-footed shit that the Uruguayan did extremely well to beat away to safety.
Second Half
There could be no doubt that that the tie opened up as the match went on, and just after half-time the match exploded to life thanks to a stunning goal by Ariel Ibagaza.
Rossi held the ball up extremely well, waiting for the overlapping run of Capdevilla on the left, and the Spanish international cut the ball back to the edge of the area onto the left foot of Ibagaza, who unleashed a wonderfully controlled strike into the top corner of the net. The Greeks were stunned – as it stood, it was Villarreal who were set to progress. Henk Ten Caate’s men needed an immediate response – and that’s exactly what they managed, thanks to their forward Evengelos Mantzios.
The home side had responded superbly to going behind, and just five minutes after Ibagaza’s opener, Karagounis whipped in an exquisite delivery, and Mantzios easily brushed aside Diego Godin to bullet home the header to level up the tie. It had been an explosive spell of football, and after all that, we were back to square one; 1-1 on the night, 2-2 on aggregate.
But Villarreal were not to be denied. With 20 minutes to go, Ariel Ibagaza was allowed to travel almost half the length of the pitch before clipping a gorgeous pass through to substitute Joseba Llorente who volleyed clinically past Galinovic to leave Panathinaikos needing two goals to progress.
The home side huffed and puffed, but they knew that Llorente’s goal had proved to be their downfall, and after fearing the away goals rule coming into the tie, El Submarinos Amarillos utilized its worth to give themselves a formidable cushion.
Villarreal’s second-half display showed glimpses of their attacking forays in the 2006 Champions League campaign, where they lost to Arsenal at the semi-final stage, and more recently the standard of play that saw them second only to Real Madrid in the Primera Division last season. The Greeks had been left shell-shocked by the slickness of the unfashionable Spaniards finishing, and Manuel Pellegrini’s men march triumphantly onto the last eight.
Panathinaikos 1-2 Villarreal (agg 2-3)
Joseba Llorente struck to help Villarreal qualify for the last eight of the Champions League at the expense of Panathinaikos after an excellent win in Athens.
The former Valladolid striker struck 20 minutes from time after Evangelos Mantzios had canceled out Ariel Ibagaza's stunning opener, and it was a win that was completely deserved on the balance of the tie.
First half
Manuel Pellegrini knew that his side had to come to Greece and score, and as a result his starting line-up was a positive one. Nihat Kahveci made a welcome return to partner Giuseppi Rossi in attack, with former Real Mallorca playmaker Ariel Ibagaza supporting from the left and Santi Cazorla bursting forward from the right.
The atmosphere was understandably intense and partisan in the early exchanges, but with an air of caution, that an away goal for the Spaniards would alter the entire aspect of the tie. Petty fouls and trite playacting, particularly from Giorgos Karagounis, typified the scrappy nature of the play, with neither side wanting to commit too much too early in the tie.
Nihat had the first effort on goal, which took a full 20 minutes to arrive. After a neat passing move that included Joan Capdevilla and Rossi, the Turkish international drilled a low strike but it was easily gathered by Mario Galinovic. However, it represented the first foray forward from El Submarino Amarillos.
On the half hour Italian Rossi had not one, but two shots brilliantly blocked on the edge of the area by Loukas Vyntra, just as he had done in the first leg, and then Ibagaza skipped a slide-rule pass through to Nihat but his effort was tame.
Villarreal were forced into an unexpected change when Angel left the field to be replaced by Javi Venta, then came the most controversial moment of the half.
Nihat broke down the left for the visitors and played a low ball into the feet of Rossi in the center. His touch meant the ball skipped up into the air, but when Vyntra attempted to nod the ball back to his goalkeeper, Ibagaza nipped in to prod the ball home. Pellegrini celebrated from the touchline, but his joy was short-lived – the referee had blown for a push by Rossi on Vyntra. It was a foul that no-one else in the ground witnessed, and Panathinaikos escaped for the time being.
Evangelos Mantzios was the danger-man for the Shamrocks, as he was in the first leg, and he squandered the best chance of the half just before the break. He dashed onto a through pass and when one-on-one with Diego Lopez fired in a powerful left-footed shit that the Uruguayan did extremely well to beat away to safety.
Second Half
There could be no doubt that that the tie opened up as the match went on, and just after half-time the match exploded to life thanks to a stunning goal by Ariel Ibagaza.
Rossi held the ball up extremely well, waiting for the overlapping run of Capdevilla on the left, and the Spanish international cut the ball back to the edge of the area onto the left foot of Ibagaza, who unleashed a wonderfully controlled strike into the top corner of the net. The Greeks were stunned – as it stood, it was Villarreal who were set to progress. Henk Ten Caate’s men needed an immediate response – and that’s exactly what they managed, thanks to their forward Evengelos Mantzios.
The home side had responded superbly to going behind, and just five minutes after Ibagaza’s opener, Karagounis whipped in an exquisite delivery, and Mantzios easily brushed aside Diego Godin to bullet home the header to level up the tie. It had been an explosive spell of football, and after all that, we were back to square one; 1-1 on the night, 2-2 on aggregate.
But Villarreal were not to be denied. With 20 minutes to go, Ariel Ibagaza was allowed to travel almost half the length of the pitch before clipping a gorgeous pass through to substitute Joseba Llorente who volleyed clinically past Galinovic to leave Panathinaikos needing two goals to progress.
The home side huffed and puffed, but they knew that Llorente’s goal had proved to be their downfall, and after fearing the away goals rule coming into the tie, El Submarinos Amarillos utilized its worth to give themselves a formidable cushion.
Villarreal’s second-half display showed glimpses of their attacking forays in the 2006 Champions League campaign, where they lost to Arsenal at the semi-final stage, and more recently the standard of play that saw them second only to Real Madrid in the Primera Division last season. The Greeks had been left shell-shocked by the slickness of the unfashionable Spaniards finishing, and Manuel Pellegrini’s men march triumphantly onto the last eight.
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