Important win for Atletico Madrid at Panathinaikos

Important win for Atletico Madrid at Panathinaikos Athens  - Atletico Madrid have one foot in the Champions League after an impressive 3-2 preliminary round win Wednesday at Greek giants Panathinaikos.

Atletico won with handsome goals from South American strikers Maxi Rodriguez, Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero.

The win leaves Atletico well placed to return to the Champions League for a second successive season. The second leg will be played Tuesday in Madrid.

Atletico dominated possession in a hot, noisy Spyros Louis stadium, but it was the hosts who came close to opening the scoring early on. In the 14th minute, Panathinaikos had a goal disallowed for a narrow offside by striker Dimitris Salpingidis.

Atletico's took the lead in the 36th minute when Forlan set up Rodriguez to score with a calm, low toe-poke.

Atletico coach Abel Resino has been trying to offload the explosive Rodriguez all summer.

Panathinaikos equalized two minutes into the second half when Salpingidis made it 1-1 with a classy lob from the edge of the penalty area.

Forlan restored Atletico's lead in the 63rd minute with a low, left-foot drive, after Rodriguez had hit the Panathinaikos crossbar.

Seven minutes later, with the Greeks looking ragged, Aguero made it 3-1 with an impressive solo goal.

Sebastian Leto pulled another goal back for the hosts with a fierce left-foot drive, but it came too late to save Panathinaikos from what looks like a costly defeat. (dpa)