First half in Almaty

Panathinaikos took control of the match in Almaty from the opening minutes and kept Kairat pinned back for most of the first half. Vicente Taborda opened the scoring in the 6th minute, finishing from close range after Kyriakopoulos sent in a low cross. Cyriel Dessers doubled the lead in the 24th minute from the penalty spot, after Martinovic brought him down inside the box and Dutch referee Allard Lindhout pointed to the spot. Andreas Tetteh's rebound was then ruled out for offside after a VAR check, in the 29th or 30th minute depending on the report, following a corner that had struck the woodwork. The first half ended 2-0.

Second half and Kairat's consolation

Panathinaikos came out quickly after the break. Dessers ran onto a through ball from Tetteh and finished in the 47th minute, making it 3-0. Kings Kangwa scored from a direct free kick in the 57th minute, only seconds after coming on, to put the visitors 4-0 up. Elmin Rastoder added the fifth goal in the 75th minute, finishing from a pass that reached him in the box. Kairat's only goal came from Bekbolat in the 79th or 80th minute, after his shot hit the woodwork before going in. Pelistri then struck the post in the 82nd minute, and the final score stood at 5-1.

Standings and what the win means

The result is Panathinaikos's second win in its two League Phase matches. Iefimerida reported that last season's qualification had been settled on seven points, while the club now has six. Taken together, the articles describe the win as putting the club in position for a place in the top eight, which Το Βήμα calls the privileged first eight. NewsIT noted that the win was Panathinaikos's second-largest away win in European competition, behind the 6-0 victory at Electroputere Craiova on 16 September 1992, a match in which Krzysztof Warzycha scored a hat-trick.

Tactics and standout performers

Coach Jacob Nistrup set his side up in a 4-4-2, with Kairat's coach Rafael Urazbakhtin fielding a 4-2-3-1. According to in.gr, Dessers was the standout player, scoring two goals and winning the penalty for the 2-0 lead. Its report also highlighted the defensive work of the Panathinaikos side, which kept Penia in the goal largely untroubled. The match was played on 22 October 2026, and the Greek side now looks to build on a result that gives it control of its own qualification path.