Ajax win 0-1 away in the first leg against Panathinaikos in the Europa League
Ajax defeated Greek side Panathinaikos in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers on Thursday due to a first-half goal by Steven Berghuis. The Amsterdammers will take the 1-0 lead into the second leg, which will be played next week in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
Berghuis returned from injury to start, having come on as a substitute in both matches against FK Vojvodina in the last qualifying round. Striker Brian Brobbey started on the bench because he had only returned to training a week ago after participating in the European Championships of last summer.
Ajax took the lead after 27 minutes when Kian Fitz-Jim laid the ball off to Berghuis, whose shot towards goal was deflected into the net.
Panathinaikos were pushing for an equalizer, and they hit the post shortly before halftime, although they were fortunate to do so. Anastasios Bakasetas’s attempted cross was skewed, resulting in the ball hitting the post via Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer.
It was quite a dull second half. Ajax defended well, not giving much away, while not creating much themselves.
The only significant chance of the second half was for the home side. Striker Alexander Jeremejeff hit the side netting after he was played in by Bakasetas.
Besides this chance, there was not much to write home about, and the match ended in a 0-1 win for Ajax.
The second leg is scheduled for next Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. The winner of this match will face either Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt or Jagiellonia Bialystok from Poland in the next qualifying round.
