Panathinaikos earns Champions League spot
Posted Thursday, May 26, 2011 by YAHOO Sport
ATHENS, Greece (AP)—Djibril Cisse scored twice in nine minutes Wednesday to help Panathinaikos beat AEK Athens 2-0 and win the Greek league playoffs for a place in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.
The Frenchman secured the victory by exploiting a defensive mistake in the 58th minute and heading in a second goal in the 67th.
PAOK Thessaloniki routed Volos 5-1 but failed to catch front-runner Panathinaikos, which recovered after a shaky start during the six-round playoffs.
PAOK, AEK and Volos all qualified for the Europa League.
Olympiakos secured the Greek league title on March 20 with three rounds remaining, and heads straight to the group stage of the Champions League.
Panathinaikos coach Jesualdo Ferreira said he was pleased his club pulled through after a run of disappointing results late in the season.
“We were looking like league contenders but we let ourselves down in the last two or three months,” he said. “We put everything into the playoffs, so I’m happy that we’ve won them. I always considered Panathinaikos to be a team of European caliber.”
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