Roma had the first shot on target inside a minute, and it came from former Olympiacos player and current Liverpool loanee Kostas Tsimikas, as his effort was tipped behind by Alban Lafont.
Not long afterwards, Lafont’s blushes were spared as he passed the ball straight to Matias Soule, but the attacking midfielder’s poor first touch prevented him from shooting, before Lorenzo Pellegrini followed in but had his strike blocked by Panathinaikos captain Tasos Bakasetas.
Roma looked the more likely to score, with 20-year-old Jan Ziolkowski just failing to make contact with Pellegrini’s inviting free-kick and Erik Palmer-Brown’s vital intervention potentially stopping Neil El Aynaoui from making it 1-0.
High drama soon ensued though when Gianluca Mancini brought down Milos Pantovic as the Panathinaikos forward looked to bear down on goal. Mancini was initially booked by Juan Martinez Munuera, but the Spaniard changed his decision to a red card following a VAR check.
Despite their man advantage however, Panathinaikos created precious little before half-time, with Bryan Cristante getting back to nip the ball off Pantovic’s toes shortly after the half-hour mark, before Giorgos Katris hit the crossbar from range.
Heading into this matchday, Roma were sixth, but they had slipped two places by the break and were clinging on to their hopes of automatic progression for dear life. Panathinaikos head coach Rafael Benitez had other worries, with only five outfield players on his youthful bench due to the Greek side’s injury situation.
In a defensive change ahead of the restart, Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini introduced Evan Ndicka for Soule, but having shut up shop well, a calamitous error from Daniele Ghilardi was seized on by Vicente Taborda, who cut inside the defender before firing home on 58 minutes.
That goal saw Roma drop out of the top eight and Panathinaikos enter the top 16, which would have allowed them to command a seeding in the knockout-phase play-offs.
However, after Pellegrini and substitute Devyne Rensch spurned good opportunities for Roma, they got back level on 80 minutes through Ziolkowski, who headed in bravely after Niccolo Pisilli’s cross was inadvertently diverted into his path by Katris.
That equaliser moved Roma back into eighth place and means that they have avoided the play-offs, while Panathinaikos will have to make do with unseeded status as they bid to reach the last 16 following their third straight draw in this competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Neil El Aynaoui (Roma)
