Two second-half goals saw Villarreal progress to the last eight of the Champions League at Panathinaikos' expense.
Ibagaza and Llorente score for Villarreal, Mantzlos nets for Pana
Two second-half goals saw Villarreal progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League at Panathinaikos' expense.
The Spanish side had a goal disallowed in the 36th minute by Ariel Ibagaza after Giuseppe Rossi was adjudged to have pushed Loukas Vidra, but replays suggested the goal should have stood.
In the second period, Ibagaza made no mistake in the 49th minute with a great left-footed strike from the edge of the box.
But Pana equalised six minutes later with a thumping Vangelis Mantzlos header from a Georgios Karagounis corner.
Villarreal then won it in the 70th minute via a fantastic strike by substitute Joseba Llorente after he had been found by an Ibagaza pass.
Few chances
The first-half saw few chances, with Nihat's long distance effort in the 20th minute forcing the first save of the game.
At the other end, Rodrigues Gabriel shot wide in the 31st minute after Dimitris Salpigidis pulled back from the right byline.
Three minutes later, Georgios Karagounis forced Diego Lopez into a save with a free-kick.
Then in the 36th minute, Nihat crossed from the right and the ball bounced up from Rossi to Ibagaza who slotted home but Rossi was penalised for a push on Loukas Vidra, although replays suggested the goal should have stood.
Soon afterwards, a Simao long ball forward split the Villarreal defence and Mantzlos forced Lopez into a fine diving save to his left.
Ibagaza goal
But Ibagaza put the visitors ahead within four minutes of the re-start with a fantastic strike from the edge of the box which beat Mario Gallnovic at his near post.
Pana were back level within six minutes after Mantzlos scored with a thumping header from seven yards from a Georgios Karagounis' corner.
Salpigdis went down under a challenge from Fabricio Fuentes in the box but the ref waved play on before Villarreal then scored the decisive goal in the 70th minute.
It came when Ibagaza found Llorente on the right who took one touch before hitting a great strike past Gallnovic.
Pana now needed two goals and, although they put Villarreal under pressure, the Spaniards held on to their lead to progress into the quarter-finals.
| Panathinaikos |
Team Statistics |
Villarreal |
| 1 |
Goals |
2 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 6 |
Corners |
3 |
| 18 |
Fouls |
20 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.5 |
Passing Success |
75.1 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
25 |
| 62.5 |
Tackles Success |
80 |
| 48.1 |
Possession |
51.9 |
| 56.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
43.3 |
|
