A first half in which Rangers were grateful to several Jack Butland interventions transformed into a memorable second 45 minutes after the restart in Govan as Academy graduate Findlay Curtis and debutant Djeidi Gassama produced wonder strikes worthy of winning any European occasion.
There were three competitive debuts from the off with Nasser Djiga, Max Aarons and Joe Rothwell all starting the game, each of whom impressed throughout the 90 minutes, while 19-year-old Curtis was handed his first European start.
From the outset it was clear that Rangers were determined to dominate the ball and suffocate the Greek visitors as the Gers enjoyed complete superiority in possession for the opening six minutes.
Indeed, a smart piece of play in the centre of the pitch freed Nico Raskin behind the Panathinaikos midfield line but, after electing not to use Curtis lurking to his left, he contrived to steer a curling finish wide of the target from 20 yards out.
The visitors were struggling to loosen the Rangers strangehold, yet once they did minutes later it was the Light Blues who were riding their fortune.
After Raskin was shown an early yellow card for hauling down Facundo Pellistri on the break, a deep free-kick delivery worked its way back across the Gers penalty area and required a fantastic reaction stop from Jack Butland before Pellistri contrived to smash the ball against the post from three yards out.
An early scare survived, then, but it was the away side who again went close to breaking the deadlock inside 20 minutes when Raskin failed to clear his lines at the near post from a corner and Erik Palmer-Brown prompted another excellent diving stop from Butland.
The game felt as if it was predominantly being played at the feet of Max Aarons, inverting in off the left-hand side onto his more comfortable right foot, as Rangers looked to lure Panathinaikos out of their defensive shape and exploit the holes which would invariably develop in the attacking third.
It is to little surprise that the relationships which Martin is looking to develop in his Rangers squad are yet to truly blossom, making for entries beyond the Panathinaikos rearguard very fleeting in the opening 45 minutes.
Mohamed Diomande, however, injected some life into the contest nine minutes shy of the interval when he strode onto a lay-off from Danilo and curled a low effort on his left-hand side towards goal which forced Bartlomiej Dragowski into a stop at full stretch.
The Gers pressure before the half-time whistle ratcheted up moments later when a James Tavernier delivery into a crowded penalty area was cleared only as far as Danilo who caught the ball sweetly on the volley. Panathinaikos were certainly grateful that Nemanja Maksimovic was positioned perfectly to deflect the goalbound effort wide for a corner.
Perhaps the half-time momentum stalled Rangers as it was the visitors who emerged after the restart with a spring in their step.
Again, a creative set-piece routine befuddled the hosts, allowing Filip Duricic to make a late dart into the penalty area, control superbly on his chest, and poke an effort goalwards that Butland was equal to, and not for the first time on the evening.
Panathinaikos were sweeping forward once again moments later as they pinched possession high up the pitch, although it was Duricic once again who couldn’t quite provide the finish for the Greek side despite being afforded the time and space to pick his spot.
And, within an instant, Rangers made the away side pay.
For one of the first times in the contest the Light Blues were able to find Curtis in space on the left-hand side, who duly took an immaculate first touch inside his body, drove menacingly infield, and curled a sumptuous effort beyond the Panathinaikos goalkeeper from 30 yards out.
Ibrox, suddenly, was brought to its feet by the moment of individual quality from the Academy graduate, who cherished the moment by the corner flag on the near-side.
It got even better for the hosts just minutes later when Giorgos Vagiannidis was sent for an early shower when he committed his second bookable offence by scything down the goalscorer Curtis in midfield.
The numerical advantage almost bore immediate dividends when Rangers hared forwards down the left-hand side and Raskin delivered into the penalty area following a neat give-and-go with Curtis. Kieran Dowell was lurking with intent at the far post and the midfielder’s sizeable frame guided a header agonisingly onto the roof of the net.
Panathinaikos appeared content to exit Glasgow tomorrow morning with only a slender deficit to confront in eight days’ time and they were indebted to their goalkeeper when Raskin jinked inside the penalty area and stung the palms of Dragowski to the extent that he required treatment.
It proved the cue for a triple substitution from Martin as summer signing Gassama entered the fray alongside Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane.
What lay next for the debutant, signed from Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month, was a moment he would have dreamt of the day he signed on the dotted line at the club.
In similar fashion to Curtis before, his directness off the left-hand side forced Panathinaikos to backpedal, allowing the winger to shimmy inside and plant an unerring finish beyond a stranded Dragowski from distance.
Rangers will make the journey to Athens next week with a commanding advantage.
RANGERS: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Djiga, Aarons, Rothwell (Bajrami, 85), Raskin, Diomande, Dowell (Igamane, 73), Curtis (Gassama, 73), Danilo (Dessers, 73)
Subs not used: Kelly, Cortes, Barron, Cameron, Jefte, Fernandez, Rice, Gentles
PANATHINAIKOS: Dragowski, Vagiannidis, Palmer-Brown, Touba, Kiriakopoulos, Bakasetas (Kotsiras, 61), Chirivella (Siopis, 83), Maksimovic, Pellistri (Tete, 83), Duricic (Mancini, 73), Ioannidis (Swiderski, 73)
Subs not used: Lafont, Kotsaris, Ingason, Cerin, Jedvaj, Jeremejeff, Bregou