Viktoria Plzen battled to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off against Panathinaikos, extending their strong away record to just one defeat in their last 12 matches (W7, D4).

Plzen entered the tie full of confidence, having navigated the league phase unbeaten (W3, D5). Their early dominance was rewarded in the 11th minute, when Lukas Cerv laid the ball off on the edge of the area for Denis Visinsky, who fired a clinical finish into the corner to open the scoring for the visitors.

Plzen pressed for a second goal, but Salim Lawal wasted a prime opportunity, curling over from close range. The miss proved costly as Panathinaikos drew level in the 30th minute through Andrews Tetteh, who converted a precise header from Giorgos Kyriakopoulos’s delivery.

Plzen threatened again before halftime, but Jiri Panos’s effort struck the side netting.

The second half started at a high tempo, with Tetteh seeing a close-range header saved by Florian Wiegele, while Alban Lafont kept out Amar Memic’s angled strike for Plzen.

Panathinaikos eventually took the lead in the 61st minute as Tetteh weaved past Karel Spacil and finished calmly into the far corner for his second goal of the evening.

Plzen responded late, earning an equaliser when Tomas Ladra’s long-range shot was parried into his own net by Lafont.

The final minutes were tense, with Anastasios Bakasetas dragging a 12-yard effort wide, and neither side could find a winner. The tie remains finely poised ahead of the second leg in Plzen next week, with a place in the last 16 up for grabs.