Panathinaikos beat Borac Banja Luka 2-1 in UEFA Conference League opener

Panathinaikos secured a 2-1 win over visitors Borac Banja Luka, in the match played at 19:45 Damascus time as part of the first round of the league phase in the UEFA Conference League for the 2026 season.

Cyriel Kolawole Dessers opened the scoring for Panathinaikos from a penalty kick in the 10th minute, before Kings Kangwa added the Greek side's second goal in the 70th minute. Miloš Jojić narrowed the gap for Borac Banja Luka with a goal in the 80th minute, but that was not enough to avoid defeat.

Miloš Jojić, who scored Borac Banja Luka's goal, was chosen as player of the match with a rating of 8.2, having played for 87 minutes and scored one goal.

Panathinaikos dominated proceedings in the match, holding 62 percent possession compared to 38 percent for Borac Banja Luka, and taking 28 shots, split between 9 on target, 10 off target and 9 attempts blocked, compared to just 4 attempts for Borac Banja Luka, including 2 on target.

Panathinaikos also won 10 corner kicks compared to none for their visitors, while the home side's pass completion rate reached 93 percent out of 564 passes, compared to 83 percent out of 351 passes for Borac Banja Luka. The visiting goalkeeper made 8 saves compared to just one save for the Panathinaikos goalkeeper.

In terms of cards, Borac Banja Luka received 3 yellow cards while Panathinaikos received none, and the match did not see any sending-off for either team. The match was officiated by referee Bence Csonka.