Panathinaikos beat Marseille on penalties, Rangers reach UCL play-off

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wiped out Panathinaikos' 1-0 first-leg lead in the third qualifying round with his first Marseille goal inside two minutes at the Stade Velodrome. The former Arsenal and Barcelona striker completed the turnaround in first-half added time by turning home his second goal from Jonathan Clauss' low cross.

But there was a late twist, as just seconds after Matteo Guendouzi had seen a strong penalty appeal waved away, the Marseille midfielder was penalised for handball by VAR and Fotis Ioannidis dispatched the resulting 99th-minute spot-kick to force extra time. Vitinha had a goal ruled out by VAR for an offside against Ismaila Sarr in the build-up as the Greeks held on for penalties.

Filip Mladenovic stroked home the winning penalty as Panathinaikos won the shoot-out 5-3, with goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli's earlier save from Guendouzi proving crucial. Panathinaikos will next face Braga, with the winners to secure their first group-stage appearance in over a decade. James Tavernier's second-half header helped Rangers edge past Swiss side Servette with a 1-1 second-leg draw and 3-2 aggregate win.

 

August 15, 2023

The Scottish giants, who conceded 22 goals in six defeats on their return to the group stage last season, saw their 2-1 first-leg lead cancelled out by Servette midfielder Dereck Kutesa. But Tavernier struck to set up a play-off round rematch for Rangers against PSV Eindhoven, after their success against the Dutch team at the same stage last year.

The first leg will be played next week in Glasgow. "It's a new team, it's about gelling together and continuing to work hard," Rangers captain Tavernier told 'BBC Scotland'. "It's there but it's about being fully concentrated... We have to put a real marker down at Ibrox (against PSV)."

Former European champions PSV sealed their place in the next round with ease, adding a 3-1 win over Sturm Graz in Austria to their 4-1 first-leg success, with Luuk de Jong netting his third goal of the tie. Elsewhere, FC Copenhagen beat Sparta Prague on penalties in the Czech Republic after a dramatic 3-3 second-leg draw.

Faroese club KI Klaksvik's fairytale run came to a heartbreaking end as Martin Linnes grabbed an extra-time winner for Molde. Braga, Polish champions Rakow, Galatasaray and Maccabi Haifa all also progressed. AEK Athens scored in the 90th minute to beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in the Croatian capital.

The match was the first leg of the tie after last week's scheduled first game in Athens was postponed after the fatal stabbing of a fan. Greek prosecutors have since charged 105 people in connection with the incident.