Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri made his Panathinakos debut in the Europa Conference League.
Very early this week there were reports from Greece that Panathinaikos had made their ‘final offer’ for Facundo Pellistri.
They were keen to wrap the deal up as quickly as possible, and Manchester United obliged. Pellistri was confirmed as a Panathinaikos player on Wednesday, with Manuel Ugarte among those wishing him well.
On Thursday night, Pellistri’s travels had taken him from England, to Greece, and over to France, where Panathinaikos were playing in the Europa Conference League against Lens.
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Facundo Pellistri makes debut
Amid his busy week, and lack of preparation time, it was somewhat of a surprise that Facundo Pellistri even made the squad.
But manager Diego Alonso is a big fan, the same manager who handed Pellistri his first Uruguay call-up.
Pellistri was included on the bench for the first leg qualifying match against Lens, and will have watched on with disappointment as the French side went 2-0 up at half-time.
Fotis Ioannidis pulled a goal back for the Greeks in the 53rd minute, and then it was time to gamble, with Pellistri sent on as a substitute in the 67th.
The young Uruguayan was played out on the right wing, his preferred role, but could not influence the result for a dream debut.
Panathinaikos lost the game 2-1, which wasn’t a bad scoreline to take back to Greece for the second leg next week.
Pellistri will hope that by then, with extra preparation time, he will have done enough to earn a starting role in front of his new home fans.
During his 23-minute appearance, Pellistri had 16 touches, attempting one shot which was blocked by a defender.
Apart from winning a free-kick, that was as good as it got, as the French side held out to claim a win on the night, and just a slender advantage on aggregate, with the tie finely poised.
Erik ten Hag’s regret
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was asked about Pellistri in his press conference, and spoke glowing about the recently sold winger.
Ten Hag explained that United will be following Pellistri’s progress, which could have a financial bearing, due to the 45 per cent sell-on clause in the deal.
“He is a very talented player, [he] progressed very well last season but we have a lot of competition in the wide areas. We looked at what we needed as a squad but also every player needs a different perspective.
“In this moment, we had many players to compete in those positions and we couldn’t give him the right perspective.
“In this club, he was a very good player, [with] high potential, but what he needs is games to improve and progress. He will get the opportunity at Panathinaikos and we will follow the process.”
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