‘Not easy to play in Athens’, Panathinaikos boss warns Rangers

Rangers “will understand that it is not easy to play in Athens”, says Pananthinaikos head coach Rui Vitoria as the Greek side attempt to turn around a two-goal deficit to progress in Champions League qualifying.

The Greek side dominated for 50 minutes at Ibrox but failed to convert a host of chances before goals from Findlay Curtis and Djeidi Gassamma gave Rangers a priceless lead to protect in Wednesday’s second leg.

Vitoria understands why the home players and fans celebrated at the end of the first leg, but warns they are mistaken if they believe the job is already done.

“We need to be more united than ever,” the Portuguese said.

“It was a really good atmosphere in Scotland, but believe me, it is going to be a very nice and hot atmosphere here as well.

“Rangers will understand that it is not easy to play in Athens – not for them and not for anybody else.”

Even with a 21:00 local kick-off time, the temperature is expected to be in excess of 30C at the Olympic Stadium.

Vitoria believes the heat and atmosphere can give Panathinaikos the edge, while emphasising the importance of scoring first.

And despite losing the first leg, Vitoria thinks the performance in Glasgow will give his side belief.

“What we did there was something rather unbelievable for a Champions League match because we had many chances, we played in our way, but we could not score,” he said.

“Although Rangers had fewer chances, they were able to score two goals. They have a lot of quality and we were punished because we did not take our chances.

“The match left a really bitter taste for all of us.

“The most important thing now is to score the first goal. I think that once we score the first goal, then the second and third ones are going to come.”