Nigeria international Cyriel Dessers scored a dramatic extra-time winner as Panathinaikos defeated CSKA 1948 2-1 in Sofia on Tuesday to qualify for the UEFA Conference League play-off round.
The Super Eagles forward struck in the 94th minute at the Vasil Levski National Stadium, restoring Panathinaikos’ lead only two minutes after Lasha Dvali had equalised for the Bulgarian side.
The result handed the Greek club a 3-2 aggregate victory, following last week’s 1-1 draw in Athens.
Panathinaikos had gone ahead in the 66th minute when Levi Garcia found the bottom corner from a difficult angle to make it 1-0.
CSKA 1948 fought back late in the game, with Dvali scoring in the 92nd minute to level the match and force extra time.
However, the visitors responded immediately.
Dessers, who had threatened earlier in the second half, reacted quickly inside the penalty area and fired a right-footed shot into the bottom-left corner to settle the tie.
The win completed a dramatic turnaround for Panathinaikos, who had been held to a 1-1 draw on August 5 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
In the first leg, Adriano Jagusic gave the Greek side the lead in the 21st minute from Santino Andino’s cross, before Georgi Rusev equalised in the 31st minute after a scramble in the box.
Panathinaikos created several chances to regain the advantage in Athens, but goalkeeper Petar Marinov produced an important save to deny De Vrij, while Gasevic later struck the crossbar in the 82nd minute as CSKA finished strongly.
The draw meant Panathinaikos travelled to Sofia needing to avoid defeat to keep their European campaign alive.
They eventually survived the late equaliser and advanced thanks to Dessers’ decisive extra-time goal.
The Greek club will now continue its European journey in the Conference League play-off round.
The goal was also a significant moment for Dessers, who returned to full training with Panathinaikos ahead of the 2026/27 season after spending about six months out with a thigh injury.
The striker marked his comeback with the goal that kept his club’s hopes of competing in Europe next season alive.
