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Super Eagles striker, Cyriel Dessers has admitted that he was left exhausted after playing a key role in Panathinaikos’ dramatic extra-time victory over CSKA 1948, which secured their progress in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers.
Playing his first competitive game for Panathinaikos in 240 days, the Nigeria international was the match-winner for the Greek Super League giants, scoring the decisive game in the fourth minute of extra-time.
Dessers had been inactive for Panathinaikos for about eight months after suffering a muscle injury while on international duty with the Super Eagles at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Nigerian converted calmly from close range after a brilliant move involving Kyriakopoulos and Jagusic, with the former supplying an inviting cross.
The former Feyenoord striker had only been expected to feature briefly as he continues his return to full fitness, but the contest went beyond 90 minutes, forcing him to spend more time on the pitch than initially planned.
“I was out for a long time. We scored a late goal and we went through. The plan was to play a few minutes, the match went to extra time, I’m tired, but I’m happy we qualified. I think in a few weeks I’ll be fully ready,” Dessers was quoted as saying by Gazzetta Greece.
Reflecting on Panathinaikos’ progress, Dessers stressed the importance of navigating the difficult qualifying rounds. The most important thing is that we got through. The summer qualifiers are never easy. We persevered, we did our best and I believe we will get better and better, because we are learning and improving. In these qualifiers it is not easy to be 100%, but you have to show up at 100%.
“When I was at Feyenoord we almost got eliminated in the qualifiers and then we reached the final. We want to get into the League Phase and then we will start to develop as a team,” he added.
