OFI Crete beat CSKA Sofia 3-0 in Europa League play-off as Panathinaikos and PAOK draw
OFI Crete built a three-goal lead over CSKA Sofia in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie at Pankritio Stadium on Thursday, while Panathinaikos and PAOK were held to home draws in Conference League qualifying.
Fountas establishes two-goal advantage in Heraklion
OFI Crete secured a 3-0 victory against Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia on Thursday night in front of more than 15,000 spectators at Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion. Christos Kontis lined up an attacking side that tested the visitors early, creating the first opportunity in the seventh minute through Aitor and Nikos Athanasiou. The opening goal arrived in the 19th minute when Aitor delivered a low cross from the left flank. The ball took a deflection off a CSKA defender before falling to Taxiarchis Fountas, who placed a first-time strike from near the penalty spot into the net.
CSKA Sofia responded with sustained possession later in the first half, testing OFI goalkeeper Nikos Christogeorgos on multiple occasions. Godoy broke free in a one-on-one situation in the 30th minute but missed the target under pressure from Christos Sielis. Christogeorgos preserved the lead before the break by saving a shot from Sensi and turning away a downward header from Ioannis Pittas in the 45th minute. Four minutes into the second half, an Athanasiou cross struck the arm of CSKA defender Pastor in the penalty area. Serbian referee Jovanovic awarded a penalty following a video assistant referee review, and Fountas converted the spot kick in the 51st minute to register his second goal of the match.
- Taxiarchis Fountas opens the scoring for OFI Crete with a first-time finish.
- Fountas doubles the lead from the penalty spot following a VAR handball review.
- CSKA Sofia attacker Itu strikes the post during a spell of pressure.
- Brahimi receives a red card after VAR review for striking Aitor.
- Dickman scores from a Nikolaou assist to establish a 3-0 lead.
Red card and stoppage-time third seal first leg
The Bulgarian side attempted to cut the deficit and created consecutive opportunities approaching the hour mark. Christogeorgos parried an attempt from Sensi in the 56th minute, before Itu struck the woodwork with a deflected shot two minutes later. Ivanov then failed to convert a header following an off-target goalkeeper clearance from a corner. Kontis introduced substitutes after the 60th minute to regain control of the midfield tempo and limit CSKA entries into the defensive third.
The visitors were reduced to ten men in the 81st minute when Brahimi received a direct red card following a VAR check for striking Aitor off the ball. OFI took advantage of the numerical superiority during added time to add a third goal. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Dickman received a pass from Nikolaou and placed a finish past the goalkeeper to fix the final score at 3-0. The return leg takes place on 27 August at 21:00 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia.
Greek rivals held at home in Conference League
Other Greek clubs competing in European play-offs on Thursday experienced late setbacks in their respective home fixtures. At the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Panathinaikos surrendered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 against Czech side Hradec Kralove. Andreas Tetteh put the hosts ahead with two goals in the 56th and 61st minutes. However, Panathinaikos conceded two late strikes to Oumar in the 90th minute and the fifth minute of stoppage time, extending their run to five consecutive matches without a clean sheet and marking their third home match of the season without a win. In Thessaloniki, PAOK recorded a 1-1 draw against Norwegian club Brann at Toumba Stadium in their opening European fixture following the departure of Giannis Konstantelias. Both Panathinaikos and PAOK require away victories in their second-leg ties next week to advance to the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.
