Hosting the match, Panathinaikos lost against Villarreal with 1:2 in the 16^th round of the Champions League. In a dramatic game on the Olympic stadium in Athens, the green ones gave everything they could, they fought, they got tired, and at the end gave up in front of the better Spanish team. The first goal was in 49^th minute by Ibagassa – 0:1. In the 55^th minute Madzios managed equalize the score – 1:1 but the happiness of the Athenians did not last long. In the 70^th minute Yorende scored and took Panathinaikos' dream to get to the eighth finals – 2:1. “The second goal killed us,” admits the clovers coach Henk ten Cate.

Ever since the first second of the game, the tension in the overcrowded Olympic stadium hit the red point. The Greeks counted on the defense strategy and left space for the Spanish to play around the ball. Ten Cate’s strategy was 4:3:2:1 with only one attacker – Madzios and behind him Salpingidis and Gabriel. The first half ended without a score but it was a nerve challenge for both teams.

The first 10 minutes of the second half brought the first two goals. In the 49^th minute, after a real team attack, Ibagasa “shot” Galinovich and the Olympic stadium froze. Six minutes later, after a corner shot by Karagounis, Madzios showed his best – head hit and everyone’s head at the Olympic stadium rose proudly again. With a score of 1:1 the tension was even bigger because that meant there should be a continuation of the game.

In the 67^th minute Panathinaikos asked for a penalty shot after Fuentez shoved out Salpingidis but referee Busaka refused to give it. In the 70^th minute, after a mistake by Gabriel, Ibagasa took the ball, gave it to Yorente, who easily kicked it into the clover’s gate.

Teams:

Panathinaikos: Galinovich, Vidra, Sariengi, Vavziniak (86’ Roukavina), Nilson, Samao, Jolberto, Karagounis, Salpingidis, Gabriel (74’ Hristodoulopoulos), Madzios

Villarreal: D. Lopez, Kapdevigia, Fuentez, Godin, A. Lopez (29’ Veda), Sena, Enguren, Ibagasa (75’ Bruno), Kasorla, Rossi, Nihat (46’ Yorente)