Gilberto pinpoints Panathinaikos progress
February 26, 2009
It is unusual that a team avoids an away defeat against Spanish opposition in UEFA club competition for the first time yet travels home pondering what might have been, but such was the paradox facing Panathinaikos FC after the first leg of their first knockout round tie at Villarreal CF.
Suspended captain
Henk ten Cate’s side travelled to El Madrigal having lost on all eight previous visits to Spain, yet a terrific display from goalkeeper Mario Galinović held the home side at bay and when Giorgos Karagounis found the top corner of the Villarreal net with a superb shot just before the hour, Panathinaikos were dreaming of the quarter-finals. Reality was swift to bite, however, Giuseppe Rossi levelling from the penalty spot eight minutes after Karagounis had struck, and to make matters worse, the Greek club will be without captain Giannis Goumas for the return fixture in Athens after his first-half booking.‘Not our best’
“The result was clearly better than the performance and I have to say that this wasn’t our best display at all,” said Gilberto, part of the Arsenal FC team which edged out Villarreal in the 2005/06 semi-finals and all too aware that considerable improvement will be required if the Greens are to win through on 10 March. “I’d go so far as to say that we were lucky on a few occasions and we will have to play much, much better than that to go through.No relaxing
“Villarreal created a lot of chances and they are capable of doing that all over again in Greece,” added the Brazilian midfielder. “We worked hard, there was pressure for 90 minutes and I’m really tired now. But if we relax and think the job is done, even in front of the great atmosphere our fans can create in Athens, then we could get a surprise. We have to do better than this and we have to concentrate.”