Iaquinta gives Udinese dream debut

Vidigal in

Key absences
Panathinaikos adopted an even more cautious approach as coach Alberto Malesani sought to cope with key absences from his side. Suspension and injury had claimed the services of Dimitrios Papadopoulos, Emmanuel Olisadebe and Flavio Conceição so the Italian opted for five in midfield and Sándor Torghelle alone up front.

Fans' welcome
Udinese were greeted on to the pitch by a cleverly-choreographed Curva Nord, holding aloft thousands of placards of Champions League footballs to symbolise both their arrival on the ultimate football stage and their home colours of black and white.

Spurned chances
The hosts' first chance to take the lead came on the quarter-hour when the excellent Antonio Di Natale put Iaquinta through with a lofted pass. Iaquinta's first touch was poor, forcing him left and his attempted lob was easily taken by goalkeeper Mario Galinović. Four minutes later, the 25-year-old spurned another opening, heading over Vincent Candela's swerving cross.

Firm header
In the 28th minute it was third time lucky for Iaquinta. In a sweeping move Di Natale released Damiano Zenoni down the left wing and his centre was met with a firm header by the powerful striker.

Neat passing
Although they passed the ball neatly, with Constantinos Charalambides, Ezequiel González and Nordin Wooter combining well, the Greek side struggled with the final ball and only really threatened at set-pieces. Indeed, González clipped a post from a free-kick with Morgan De Sanctis beaten.

Mazy run
But it was De Sanctis's opposite number who was the busier of the two keepers. Di Natale was denied after 36 minutes when his mazy run resulted in a fine stop by Galinović. Vidigal's snapshot was also repelled by the Croatian.

Attacking approach
After the break the visitors came out with more attacking intent as they sought to get back into the match. Wooter turned Felipe outside the area before forcing a save from De Sanctis. Torghelle then tried his luck from 18 metres following a quickly taken free-kick but failed to direct his shot.

Full advantage
As Malesani's men pressed forward, so they became exposed at the back and it was Iaquinta who took full advantage. The balance of the game turned decisively in favour of Udinese in the 73rd minute when Iaquinta raced on to another Di Natale pass with the Greeks caught looking for offside. He took the ball around Galinović and rolled it into an empty net.

Treble completed
Two minutes later, Iaquinta celebrated a dream start to his Champions League career, turning to steer a fierce drive past Galinović. In fact, the last ten minutes witnessed a complete siege of the visitors' goal and only a desperate clearance by Panathinaikos captain Ioannis Goumas prevented Iaquinta registering a fourth.