World media reacts as Rangers land withering verdict with Athens crying salty tears for Panathinaikos

Daily Record

7 days ago

Gers survived multiple scares but found a way to see off side who reckon they're cursed
'I've no idea how Rangers got through against Panathinaikos!' - Hotline Live
It would be wrong to say Rangers haven't had some scares during recent storied European nights in their recent history.
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However, nails likely haven't been shredded in the way they were against Panathinaikos as the Greeks passed up multiple golden chances on a night Jack Butland backed-up his stellar display at Ibrox with some vital saves on a baking hot night in Athens.
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A stadium erupted when Filip Đuričić's opener was confirmed after two minutes of checks from VAR, however, the joy was short-lived after super-sub Djeidi Gassama netted a perfect half-volley to restore the two-goal lead and tee-up their third-round Champions League qualifier against Viktoria Plzen.
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Was it perfect from Rangers? No, but it was good enough for now as Russell Martin 's highwire act brings thrills and frights in equal measure. Record Sport takes takes the temperature in Athens as the locals are less than impressed with the team who dumped out their hometown heroes.
Sport 24 (Greece)
Last year, during the summer qualifiers, Panathinaikos , in the three hours it faced Lens, and for only about half an hour Pana were better than them.
Lens, Rangers, Ajax , opponents who come to Pana in abundance in July and August, not because the evil UEFA with its obsessive anti-Panathinaikos bosses has put him on the mark, but because for years the greens were simply absent from the European football scene.
Rangers, in the other three hours we watched them in the last two weeks of July, are in no way a better team than Lens.
Damn, at this point in time, if what they presented in Glasgow and on Wednesday at OAKA (even) matches the level of the top four teams in Greece.
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Paron (Greece)
Panathinaikos deserved a lot, but ultimately got nothing from the matches against Rangers. The Greens, just like at Ibrox, were superior, they gave their all, they created huge opportunities, they took the lead in the score, but one -and only- moment of inaction, deprived the dream of hope. The many classic opportunities did not translate into goals and therefore the final 1-1 was not enough to grant the Clover qualification to the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
The Rangers goal affected the Greens, who nevertheless reached the brink of 2-1 in the 70th minute. Tete crossed the ball, but for a few centimeters, neither Maksimovic nor Ioannidis managed to push the ball into the net with a projection. No matter how hard they tried, no matter what Rui Vitória and the players tried, they were unable to score a second time in order to return to the qualification race. The applause of the crowd at the finale was a reward for the great effort made by the Greens.
Sport Time (Greece)
Panathinaikos missed a great opportunity and beyond the result, the manner is also disturbing. In two matches they looked far superior to Rangers , however in 180 minutes they "wrote" one elimination, one defeat, one draw and just one goal.
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At the end of the day, football is as simple as the basic rule of winning. To put the ball in the opponent's goal, more times than they do. In other words, score more goals than the team you are playing against. Panathinaikos created all those conditions to achieve that. Not only in the OAKA game, but also in the Glasgow game.
They couldn't take advantage of them. Without any exaggeration, they could, in fact, have scored twice in every match and seriously - seriously conceded a goal in every match, not to mention one in total. In the end, they scored only once and conceded three.
It makes no sense to talk about football, not because the numbers speak - they don't always tell the truth anyway. But because the issue at Panathinaikos is psychological and unfortunately deeply rooted throughout the club. It's as if no one believes in the "clover" that the team can achieve something great. Big problem.