If you’d told Trebor Mahtal that he’d have won a national title three years into his managerial career, he’d probably have claimed you were smoking something strong. But that was very much the case in 2026 as he led Panathinaikos AO to their 22nd Greek title.
That meant the Zambian boss now had the prospect of Champions League football, while still only having a Continental C coaching licence. His performance in Greece saw an offer to return to Turkey with Trabzonspor but, for a change, he showed a little loyalty to lead Panathinaikos into an exciting season.
Mahtal wasted no time converting last season’s successful loan signings into permanent deals. Winger Yusuf Demir and 6ft 5in centre back Rhys Williams arrived on free transfers and Martín Satriano for £3.8m. They also signed a couple of potential superstar midfielders in soon-to-be wonderkid Bruno Paulino, who rejected the likes of Bayern and Inter to join for £500k from Inter, and João Veloso dos Santos for £1.2m from Braga, then loaned in goalkeeper Emir Yasar from Besiktas and Southampton striker Dom Ballard. Mahtal also promoted promising academy talents winger Stergios Karamaris and defender Napoleon Tzoumerkiotis. And he stuck with the 4-4-2 approach that worked so well last season.
Champions League Excitement
The title win put Panathinaikos two games away from the Champions League proper as they faced Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions Path playoff. Goals by Fotis Ioannidis, Demir and Satriano secured a 3-0 win in Croatia before Ballard scored his first goal in a 2-1 home success ensured they’d mix it with Europe’s elite. And that earned them a £12.69m payout, boosting their previous bank balance of £3m. And they would get a taste of elite European football with a tricky fixture list.
The bookies dished out some of the longest odds you’ll ever see, giving Panathinaikos a 10,000/1 chance of winning the Champions League. But they opened up with a dominant 4-1 win over Sparta with goals by Dennis Politic, Satriano, Ballard and Ioannidis. Their first big test took them to Lazio, where they caused a shock as Júnior Firpo’s excellent run and cross teed up Ioannidis’ opener. Lazio grew into it and equalised with a lucky own goal but Satriano’s excellent finish restored the lead. Politic and Ioannidis hit the post after the break and Lazio offered little as Mahtal’s side claimed a huge 2-1 scalp.
They also caused a shock as Daniel Mancini put them 1-0 up at home to PSG then Ioannidis hit the post. PSG equalised with a fluke own goal and only took control with late goals as Mahtal pushed for an unlikely point. They also suffered defeats at Porto and Bayern and got destroyed by Theo Hernández at home to Milan. But Satriano bagged back-to-back braces to defeat PSV at home then Gent away to secure a place in the playoff round with a pretty impressive 16th-place finish.
Everyone, Mahtal included, expected the run to end there as they took on Juventus. But Satriano’s goal earned a 1-1 in Turin to give them a chance in Mahtal’s 100th game at the club. Two pieces of terrible defending saw Juve gift Panathinaikos equalisers to a Chiesa brace. That took the game to extra time and a massive conspiracy arose as Satriano scored a 118th-minute and was clearly onside (he’s in the middle of the goal standing behind Ballard when he shoots in the screenshot below). A VAR check glitched and the result showed 3-2 as the game ended… but it suddenly went to a penalty shootout. Emir saved Juve’s first two but Ioannidis also missed and Sanali Diomandé missed their fourth. So it went to sudden death and, unsurprisingly, the nervous Firpo smashed one straight at Szesczeny.
Greek Title Defence
Panathinaikos remain third-favourites for the title with odds of 6/1 compared to AEK and Olympiacos (5/4 and 2/1). Their title defence began against two promoted sides and an easy 3-1 win at Kavala before Karamaris scored on his debut in a 3-0 victory over Niki Volou. They then enjoyed a nice long weekend in Salonika, defeating PAOK 1-0 on Sunday then first goals for the club by homegrown talents Tzoumerkiotis and centre back Giannis Zarmakoupis secured a 2-0 win at Aris on Wednesday. That sent them into a first Classic Greek Derby of the season at home to Olympiacos in good form, but a poor performance saw them slip to a first defeat.
Mahtal’s side got back on track with Satriano’s brace leading a 6-1 hammering of Panserraikos, which began a run of six successive victories before a disappointing 2-0 defeat to AEK. They continued to play well against the smaller clubs and took a two-point lead over Olympiacos into the new year, which they retained as they somehow only drew 1-1 at their rivals despite having 17 shots to five. And they eventually led the way by four points from AEK heading into the Championship Group.
The title run-in began well as Politic scored twice in a 5-0 thumping of 4th-place OFI. Then Mahtal sacrificed a Greek Cup semi against AEK to beat them 2-0 three days later through Ioannidis and Mancini, which moved them nine points clear. That set the scene for Panathinaikos to stroll to their 23rd Greek title and their first consecutive titles since 1996.
They finished with 91 points, winning the league by 12 from AEK and 24 from Olympiacos, after 29 wins, 4 draws and 3 defeats, scoring 96 and conceding just 24. Satriano was the league’s top scorer with 23 in 33, Demir was named Talent of the Year, Emir won Goalkeeper of the Year and Mahtal claimed Manager of the Year.
Establishing Panathinaikos Dominance
Mahtal had led his side to dominance in Greece, winning the league at a canter and just about competing with some of Europe’s best. He may have a dilemma over whether to stuck with the club or seek pastures new, having realistically achieved all he can in Greece.
Satriano scored on the final day to surpass Ioannidis’ club record of 33 goals in a season and, even more impressively, came 2nd to Darwin Nuñez with 10 in 11 in the Champions League. He led the way with 34 in 46 followed by Ioannidis (23), Demir (12), Mancini (11), Ballard (8) and Williams (8). But Ioannidis was the main creative force with 17 assists followed by Demir (15), Mancini (14), Firpo (12) and Paulino (11). And Satriano was the star man with an impressive 7.54 average rating.
So would Mahtal stay with Panathinaikos as they moved into a new stadium in the summer of 2027? Or would he seek pastures new? Join us on Friday to find out!
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