Last season’s beaten EuroLeague finalists Real Madrid got their 2022-2023 campaign off to a good start with a 71-68 win over Panathinaikos on a busy opening night of action across Europe.
The tie was tight throughout with maximum difference of the game only reaching eight points. However the Greek hosts were almost always behind on the scoreboard. They did, however, take the lead twice with just a few minutes to go.
Los Blancos started well and managed to open a gap in the scoreboard (13-21), but it did not last long. A 6-0 run for the Greeks, who came into the game suffering a tough defeat against Olympiacos in the Super Cup (52-67), allowed the advantage to be minimal after the first 10 minutes (22-23). There were hardly any significant differences between the two in any statistic.
Panathinaikos made a strong start to the second quarter, although the exchange of scores was constant. Once again Real Madrid finished one point ahead after tying the score at 15. Chus Mateo’s team scored 40% of their two-point shots attempted, twice as many as the opponent (20%).
