Copenhagen win to top group

Copenhagen went top of Group D as they easily beat 10-man Panathinaikos 2-0.

Danes catch Greeks cold to give themselves chance of progress

Copenhagen went top of Group D as they easily beat 10-man Panathinaikos 2-0 to put themselves in with a real chance of qualifying for the next round. The Danish champions had never won an away tie in the UEFA Champions League, but that record was smashed as the high flying Lions romped away to victory easily in the first half. Goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas was at fault for both goals as he came rushing into no-man's land to try to clear Dame N'Doye's opener, and was beaten easily by Martin Vingard's speculative free-kick to concede the second. The game was then as good as over straight from the restart as Gilberto was dismissed harshly for a handball that gave the Greek champions little chance of making an impression. The most positive aspect of the result for Stale Solbakken's side was that they topped the group heading into their double-header against favourites Barcelona with the bonus of being able to afford to drop points. Their opponents, however, now look all-but out unless they can stage a remarkable fightback to overturn their deficit; including the need for a result in the reverse fixture at the Parken Stadium in December. Panathinaikos almost broke the deadlock with 30 seconds on the clock after Djibril Cisse's audacious attempt to beat Johan Wiland from distance with a half-volley, but the keeper was equal to the effort to turn it behind for a corner. The home side started the livelier of the two, with Luis Garcia dropping into space to try to create chances for his team-mates. Loukas Vyntra also had an effort from distance saved by Wiland in what was a quiet opening 20 minutes at the Olympic Stadium, getting down low to turn his goal-bound shot wide.

Arms length

Copenhagen were happy to keep their opponents at arms length and dropping deep, with Cisse more and more isolated and Garcia unable to feed his runs. The first half wore on as it began, with the Danes soaking up the Greek side's pressure, and it paid off as N'Doye kept up his remarkable run of form to score against his former club almost at the half-hour mark and catch them completely cold. The Senegalese striker was fed clean through with a simple pass from Gronkjaer to finish coolly from outside the area to beat the onrushing Tzorvas, who came way too far out of his area to make any sort of stop. Sebastian Leto almost produced an instant reply with a fine run inside and a right-footed strike from outside the box that was just deflected past Wiland's post. However it should have been two for Copenhagen with another easy ball over the top for Gronkjaer to get through, but his sideways pass to feed N'Doye to finish went behind the striker and allowed Panathinaikos to clear. Panathinaikos were looking vulnerable at the back, with N'Doye exploiting the lack of pace of Gilberto to draw him into a silly foul and his first booking. And they were punished further with Vingaard taking advantage of more poor goalkeeping by Tzorvas with a free-kick from all of 30 yards to give them a two-goal cushion.

Hellish

Tzorvas was rooted to his spot as the ball swerved from left to right to beat him almost in the dead centre of the goal, with the Greek international suffering a hellish first period to forget. Giorgos Karagounis and Nikos Spiropoulos were brought on in place of Garcia and Kostas Katsouranis to try and get the home side back in the game as the second half began, but it was more a change of tactics needed than personnel for manager Nikos Nioplias. And it got worse for the home team as skipper Gilberto was dismissed for a second bookable offence as he instinctively handballed N'Doye's flick-on in what was a very harsh decision. Karagounis at least worked hard to try to make an impression on the game, but he was often isolated in his efforts to get back into things as his team-mates faded around him. Copenhagen came closest to the third with 20 minutes on the clock as substitute Norregaard crashed his shot against the crossbar from Ozcar Wendt's low cross. Cisse almost got his side one back as he tried to flick on Karagounis' cross inside the far post, but it floated just over.the bar. But it proved to be the most exciting action of the second half as the game dwindled away and left Panathinaikos staring down the barrel of a European exit at the first hurdle.

Panathinaikos	Team Statistics	FC København
0	Goals	2
0	1st Half Goals	2
4	Shots on Target	2
6	Shots off Target	5
4	Blocked Shots	2
6	Corners	2
10	Fouls	13
3	Offsides	3
1	Yellow Cards	2
1	Red Cards	0
85.2	Passing Success	82.8
16	Tackles	15
81.2	Tackles Success	86.7
49.8	Possession	50.2
57.2	Territorial Advantage	42.8