Through after extra time in Sofia
Panathinaikos are into the Conference League playoffs. A 2–1 extra-time win over CSKA 1948 in Sofia, and the tie was decided in the 95th minute. Dessers and Livai Garcia scored the goals that mattered (1) (2).
The second-leg score at Vasil Levski was 1–2 on the night, and your team needed every minute of it (2).
Dessers buries a nightmare season
Cyriel Dessers put last year behind him with one finish. The striker spent the previous season wrecked by injuries, but his 95th-minute winner in Bulgaria changes the story completely (3). That goal sends Panathinaikos one round from the League Phase.
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Livai Garcia and Dessers deliver, EPO takes notice
Both summer signings are already delivering. Livai Garcia, on loan from Spartak Moscow, scored in the first leg, and Dessers sealed it in Sofia (1) (3). The Greek federation noticed. EPO issued a statement congratulating Nistrup's side and noting that every European step lifts Greece's UEFA coefficient (1).
Brann also through the hard way
Panathinaikos were not the only ones dragged into extra time. Brann also needed the added 30 minutes to reach the playoffs (4).
What comes next
Kifisia at home on Sunday, August 23, opens the Super League campaign. That is the next confirmed fixture. Before then, eyes turn to the playoff draw, one tie from the League Phase.
Fan-reaktioner
Fans on r/Panathinaikos treated the Dessers goal like it deserved its own monument. The match thread after his 95th-minute winner was pure release after a tense night in Sofia. Over on r/soccer, the goal clip drew its own crowd, neutrals respect a late winner that lands like that.
