40-year-old Remko Pasveer saves five penalties as Ajax win shootout against Panathinaikos in Europa League qualifying round | OneFootball

Ajax have progressed to the next round of Europa League qualifying in the most breathtaking fashion. Goalkeeper Remko Pasveer was the hero as the Dutch giants scraped past Panathinaikos on penalties, with 34 penalties taken in the deciding shootout. The Dutchman made several huge saves throughout the 120 minutes and went on to save five penalties in a 25-minute long decider. Pasveer even scored his own penalty to top off a bizarre night.

The Amsterdam side went into this clash with a slim 1-0 aggregate advantage, and all seemed well up until the 89th minute. Brazilian winger Tete netted late on to send the tie to extra-time, and nobody in the packed Johan Cruyff Arena was expecting the finale that proceeded. Panathinaikos midfielder Daniel Mancini set the tone for the shootout as he sent the first spot-kick into Remko Pasveer’s gloves. Both sides went on to convert their following four penalties until Brian Brobbey stepped up with the chance to end things early on. The striker missed his penalty sending the game on for another 18 minutes or so.

Bertrand Traoré and Youri Baas both went on to miss their penalty kicks before Brian Brobbey, with another chance to win it, sent the ball into row Z. Luckily for Ajax, Panathinaikos players Nemanja Maksimovic, Sverrir Ingi Ingason, Filip Mladenovic and Tonny Vilhena all missed to send Ajax through to the next round of qualifying! Remko Pasveer the man to thank after a remarkable performance. Franceso Farioli can breathe a sigh of relief for now as his side face Polish outfit Jagiellonia Białystok for a place in the Europa League group stages.

GBeNeFN | Jonas Fielding