Panathinaikos were held to dull 0-0 draw by Rubin Kazan, to register their first point of this season's Champions League.

Russians hold firm on their travels

Panathinaikos were held to dull scoreless draw by Rubin Kazan, to register their first point of this season's Champions League. The Greeks and Russians failed to break the deadlock in a scrappy affair in Athens, despite the inspired performances of Gergios Karagounis, and Alan Kasaev for the visitors. Djibril Cisse thought he had headed home the winner 13 minutes from time, but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the area. Neither side had any clear cut opportunities on the night, and both will be left disappointed with the result, as they remain in third and fourth place respectively in Group D. It was a quiet but physical opening, with Rubin Kazan enjoying the majority of possession in the early stages. It took some 16 minutes for the first shot on target to come, as Pana captain Georgios Karagounis tested his luck from a long range free kick. The Greeks began to find some consistency in their game, but it was the visitors who went closet to scoring next, as Serghey Kornilenko saw a headed attempt sail just wide of the target. Karagounis' long ball into the area caused havoc amongst the visiting defence, whilst Kornilenko saw his strike from just outside the area cleared off the line by Loukas Vyntra, as the scrappy contest remained scoreless. Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev demanded more from his players in the final 10 minutes, and got an immediate response, as Kasaev hit an effort from 25 yards, forcing goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas into making a difficult save.

Wasteful

Pana tried to respond at the other end, but were wasteful, as Djibril Cisse blew a massive opportunity to head home from six yards just prior to the half time interval. A clumsy challenge by Karagounis on Aleksandr Ryazantsev handed Rubin the first opportunity of the second half, but Gokdeniz Karadeniz saw his free kick attempt crash into the wall on 50 minutes. The match was lacking in quality and energy, so Pana boss Nikos Nioplias made a double switch just after the hour mark, with Lazaros Hristodoulopoulos and Damien Plessis replacing Kostantinos Katsouranis and influential captain Karagounis. The change did little for the Greeks however, as Kasaev danced his way around a few defenders in the area, and forced a solid save out of Tzorvas, as Rubin began to lift the intensity. Obafemi Martins was introduced for Karadeniz on 65 mintues.

Scare

There was a scare in the Rubin goal, as Sergei Ryzhikov fumbled a Cisse cross, however he was quick to gather it back on the bounce, whilst his team-mate Kasaev continued to cause havoc with his quick feet in attack. Djbiril Cisse headed home what he thought was the opening goal on 77 minutes, however much to the displeasure of the home fans, it was ruled out for a foul on a defender in the area. Both sides pressed in the closing stages needing victory to keep their qualifying chances alive, however both looked rather cautious as it ended all square.

Panathinaikos	Team Statistics	Rubin Kazan
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
1	Shots on Target	4
4	Shots off Target	9
5	Blocked Shots	1
5	Corners	8
10	Fouls	18
1	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
76.9	Passing Success	75.3
22	Tackles	21
95.5	Tackles Success	71.4
53	Possession	47
48.8	Territorial Advantage	51.2