Viktoria Plzeň drew 2-2 with Panathinaikos Athens in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round tie on Thursday evening, remaining unbeaten in the competition so far this season. Goals from Denis Višinský and Tomáš Ladra for Plzeň were answered by a brace from Andreas Tetteh for the Greek side.
Višinský opened the scoring for the visitors in the 11th minute, capitalizing on a quick break and a rebound following a save by Panathinaikos goalkeeper Lafont. The 22-year-old’s goal marked his first in European competition.
Panathinaikos equalized in the 31st minute through Tetteh, who headed home a cross from Kyriakopulos. The score remained level until the hour mark when Tetteh completed his double, skillfully maneuvering past Spáčil and slotting the ball past Wiegele.
Plzeň responded with a late equalizer in the 80th minute, courtesy of substitute Ladra. His shot from just outside the penalty area found the back of the net, setting up a potentially favorable position for the return leg in Plzeň next week.
The match took place on a partially reconstructed Olympic Stadium in Athens. Plzeň coach Martin Hyský made two changes to his starting lineup since the winter break, giving a start to 18-year-old Panoš, who scored the winning goal against Basel in January. Spáčil replaced Jemelka at center-back, with Jemelka having been sent off in the previous meeting between the two sides in December.
The teams had previously met in the group stage in December, playing to a goalless draw in Athens despite Plzeň playing for an hour with ten men after Jemelka’s dismissal. This result extends Plzeň’s unbeaten run in European competitions to ten games. However, Viktoria has yet to record a victory against Greek opposition in five attempts.
The winner of the tie will face either Midtjylland or Betis Sevilla in the round of 16. Plzeň is participating in the knockout phase of a European competition for the third consecutive season, having reached the round of 16 in the Europa League last year and the quarter-finals of the Conference League two years prior.
Elsewhere in the Europa League, Fenerbahce Istanbul lost 3-0 at home to Nottingham, Dinamo Zagreb fell 3-1 to Genk, Brann Bergen were defeated 1-0 by Bologna, PAOK Soluň lost 2-1 to Celta Vigo, Ludogorec Razgrad beat Ferencváros Budapešť 2-1, Celtic Glasgow were thrashed 4-1 by Stuttgart, and Lille lost 1-0 to Crvena zvezda Bělehrad.
