Chelsea make light work of Panathinaikos in Conference League runout
Football paled into insignificance prior to kick-off, with Panathinaikos supporters paying tribute to former defender George Baldock, who tragically lost his life earlier this month.
They held aloft green cards emblazoned with the number 32 - Baldock’s former squad number - before a minute’s silence was observed inside the stadium.
The Greek side began brightly, and Filip Jörgensen was forced into a fine one-handed save in the opening exchanges to parry away Tin Jedvaj’s header from Filip Mladenović’s inswinging set-piece. Moments later, Azzedine Ounahi then tried his luck with a speculative long-range attempt that flew narrowly wide.
Despite that fast start, it was Chelsea who took the lead - largely against the run of play - courtesy of João Félix.
The Portuguese fired home with a clinical first-time finish in the 23rd minute after smartly reacting to Mykhailo Mudryk’s ball across the box.
The Blues had now scored in each of their last nine away matches across all competitions, and served as a real sucker punch for Panathinaikos following their impressive start.
Enzo Maresca’s side were in the mood to inflict further damage, as Bartłomiej Drągowski did well to tip over Enzo Fernández’s dipping long-range strike.
Chelsea doubled their advantage three minutes into the second half, as Mudryk scored his first goal of the season with a downward header at the far post, meeting Pedro Neto’s excellent cross from the right-hand side.
It was effectively game over seven minutes later when Félix claimed his second of the match after his effort from the edge of the box took a hefty deflection off Nemanja Maksimović before flying past Drągowski.
A fourth goal arrived in the form of a penalty, with Daniel Mancini penalised for handball inside the box.
Christopher Nkunku confidently dispatched the subsequent spot-kick to continue his record of scoring in every European match this season.
However, Facundo Pellistri prevented Chelsea from leaving Athens with a clean sheet, finishing off a swift break forward by the Greens after tapping home a Georgios Vagiannidis delivery at the far post.
It would prove to be a scant consolation for the hosts, whose four-match unbeaten run on home soil came to an end. Meanwhile, this result ends a minor blip of two games without a win for Enzo Maresca’s side, as the visitors extended their unbeaten historical record against Greek opposition to seven games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: João Félix (Chelsea)
