Panathinaikos beat AS Roma 3-2 on Wednesday to progress to the
round of 16 in the Europa League with a 6-4 aggregate win.
John Arne Risse gave Roma the lead early on with a deflected
freekick, but two goals from Djibril Cisse and one from Sotiris
Ninis gave the Greeks a commanding 3-1 lead at halftime.
After the break Daniele De Rossi scored a second for Roma but
Claudio Ranieri's team failed to create further chances despite
Kostas Katsouranis being sent off late on.
"This is a big day for the club," coach Nikos Nioplias said.
"I hope we can keep this good run going. We went with a plan and it
worked for us. We beat a big team, Roma, a team that is in great
form."
After Risse had given the Italian side the lead in the 11th
minute, Panathinaikos hit back with three goals in the last five
minutes of the first half to take control.
Cisse scored a penalty in the 40th after De Rossi fouled
Ninis, who scored the second with a long range shot three minutes
later. Ninis then set up Cisse for his second in first half injury
time.
"It was a really good game from all the team," Cisse said.
"Ninis is a great player and that was a great pass he gave me. I'm
happy he scored a goal and I hope we can go much further in this
competition."
De Rossi gave Roma hope in the 67th when he scored from a
rebound after Panathinaikos goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas saved
Alessio Cerci's shot, but it failed to spark a Roma comeback.
