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29.07.2015 Sports News

Essien absent in Panathinaikos victory in opening UEFA Champions League clash

By ghanasoccernet.com
Essien is recovering from an injury setback even before he plays his first match for PanathinaikosEssien is recovering from an injury setback even before he plays his first match for Panathinaikos
29.07.2015 LISTEN

Greek giants Panathinaikos were without their big Ghanaian signing Michael Essien when they kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a victory on Tuesday night.

The Ghana international failed to recover from his chronic knee injury that has kept him out of action since joining the Greek side from AC Milan this month.

However his close friend and former Nigeria U20 skipper Abduljaleel Ajagun helped the Greek club Panathinaikos come from behind to beat visiting Club Brugge of Belgium 2-1 in a UEFA Champions League qualifying clash.

'Pana' fell behind in front of their fans after just 10 minutes, but they showed great character to come back and win with goals in the 37 and 65 minutes.

And that was after they had defender Sergio Sanchez sent off two minutes from halftime and also missed a penalty in the 34th minute.

Ajagun was replaced in the 46th minute on account of the red card against his team.

Essien is undergoing treatment in Germany following surgery but he is expected to make a speedy recovery to help the side in their campaign.

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