Having made it through the league phase as the only unbeaten side (W3, D5), Plzen looked full of confidence in the early stages in Athens.
The visitors’ intent was duly rewarded with a breakthrough in the 11th minute, when Lukas Cerv’s lay-off on the edge of the box was clinically fired into the corner by Denis Visinsky for the Czech’s first UEL goal of the season.
Keen to press home their advantage, Martin Hysky’s men threatened to score a second, only for Salim Lawal to curl wastefully over when well-placed in the area.
That miss proved to be costly, with Panathinaikos drawing level on the half-hour mark through Andrews Tetteh, who glanced a superb header into the far corner from Giorgos Kyriakopoulos’ delivery.
Plzen attempted to restore their lead before half-time, but Jiri Panos could only fire a promising effort into the side netting.
Chances continued to flow at the start of the second period, with Tetteh seeing a close-range header repelled by Florian Wiegele, while at the other end, Alban Lafont stood firm to deny Amar Memic’s angled strike.
The hosts eventually made their pressure count in the 61st minute, as Tetteh tricked his way past Karel Spacil before unleashing an unerring finish into the far corner for his second of the evening.
Determined to find a response heading into the final quarter-hour, Plzen were gifted an equaliser when Tomas Ladra’s speculative effort from range was parried into his own net by Lafont.
That set up a fascinating finale as Rafael Benítez’s side pushed for a late winner, with Anastasios Bakasetas dragging a strike wide from 12 yards. Ultimately, there was nothing to separate the two teams, who meet again in the second leg in Plzen next week for a spot in the last 16.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Andrews Tetteh (Panathinaikos)
