Panathinaikos have qualified for the UEFA Conference League after Cyriel Dessers scored a penalty deep in extra time to secure a 2-1 victory over Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic.
The result completes a dramatic aggregate win that sends the Athens club into Europe's third-tier competition. Dessers scored both of Panathinaikos's goals on the night to break the Czech side's resistance in a tense playoff tie. His decisive penalty came in the fifth minute of stoppage time at the end of extra time.
The victory provides a vital boost to the UEFA coefficient for Greece, helping the nation remain in contention for 10th place in the European rankings, which determines the allocation of continental places for domestic clubs.
Following the match, Panathinaikos filed a formal complaint with UEFA regarding an attack on defender Giorgos Kyriakopoulos.
Conference League draw
Panathinaikos join a 36-team field for the League Phase draw on Friday, August 28, where they will be seeded in Pot 2.
Under UEFA's updated competition format, the traditional group stage has been replaced by a single league table. Each team will play six matches against six different opponents, drawing one team from each of the six seeding pots.
The League Phase fixtures are scheduled for October 15, October 22, November 5, November 26, December 10 and December 17, 2026.
Pot 1 features Atalanta, Braga, Ajax, Freiburg, Monaco and Copenhagen.
Panathinaikos's fellow Pot 2 teams are Midtjylland, Red Star Belgrade, Gent, Pafos and Brighton. Brighton secured their own place in the League Phase with a 4-0 win over Tromso, led by a goal and an assist from Kostoulas.
Pot 3 contains Lugano, Getafe, KuPS, Twente, Borac Banja Luka and Sint-Truiden, while Pot 4 includes Brann, Hearts, Kairat Almaty, Trabzonspor, Craiova and Riga.
Pot 5 consists of Hajduk Split, Jablonec, the winner of Larne against Lincoln Red Imps, Nordsjaelland and Inter d'Escaldes. Pot 6 is made up of Thun, CSKA Sofia, Zalgiris Kaunas, Mjallby, Iberia and Egnatia.
PAOK elimination
While Panathinaikos celebrated, PAOK suffered a painful early exit from European competition. The Thessaloniki club were eliminated in August after losing 3-2 to Brann in Norway.
Speaking after the defeat, Lisi disputed the decisive goal, stating that there was no penalty in the play that made it 3-2.
Europa League progress
OFI Crete made history by reaching the Europa League phase following a 2-0 victory over CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria, completing back-to-back wins in the tie.
Manager Kontis praised his team's historic achievement, saying they put on a performance that people would be jealous to see.
OFI will be placed in Pot 4 for the Europa League draw, where they will be joined in the competition by Olympiacos, who are seeded in Pot 1.
Off the pitch, Olympiacos are strengthening their squad, with Pedersen arriving in Athens to sign for the club.
Champions League draw
In the UEFA Champions League, AEK Athens have been drawn against defending champions Real Madrid, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, Como and LASK.
The draw means AEK and Christos Tzolis will face off against Karetsas and Konstantelias. Arsenal were also drawn to face Dortmund.
In domestic basketball news, AEK have hired Dragan Sakota to manage the team until 2030.
Athletics records in Zurich
In athletics, Emmanouil Karalis broke the Greek national pole vault record by clearing 6.20 metres at the Zurich Diamond League. Karalis pushed world record holder Armand Duplantis throughout the competition and made his first attempts at a world record height of 6.32 metres.
Karalis said he now believes anything is possible, noting it was the first time he had tried for a world record.
Fellow Greek athlete Miltiadis Tentoglou also secured a victory in Zurich, winning the long jump with a leap of 8.45 metres.
La Liga results
Elsewhere in European football, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 to secure their second win in as many games in La Liga.
Following his side's European fixture, Nistrup noted that his team showed character but still had things to improve.
