The stage was set for what we were all hoping would be a memorable night, something like what we witnessed against Milan over a decade ago. 60,000 supporters had almost filled OAKA and the atmosphere, as to be expected, seemed pretty amazing.
Unfortunately, the result ultimately didn’t live up to all the hype leading up to the game. Realistically our chances were always pretty slim. Sure this Bayern team seems to be weaker this season than in the past, but our form in the Champions League has also been pretty weak over the previous two games. Bayern has also had their back against the wall lately as a result of their string of poor performances so its safe to say they were desperately looking for a win of their own.
Ultimately it all comes down to the fact that our squad just isn’t strong enough. Can we still compete for the Championship? Perhaps, but Champions League is a whole different level and when you lose three of your best players in Araujo, Lazaros, and Vranjes, and fail to replace them with someone just as good if not better, this is what happens.
Thankfully theres still a chance we could salvage 3rd place in the group. The chances are slim, but with us on 0 points and Benfica only on 3, anything can happen. Although, it doesn’t help that two of the remaining three games are away (in Munich and Lisbon).
Possibly the one good thing to take away from the match? The fact that we definitely have some of the best supporters in Europe:
This sport can be so cruel at ties. Today’s match was, as is every match in the Champions League group stages, a crucial one. A win would have put us in a good position going forward, a draw would have at least salvaged a vital point, but instead we ended up on the losing end again. Except it could have been so different…
We got off to the worst start possible, conceding early after some disastrous defending which saw us fail to get to a lose rebound right in front of our own net. It got worse from that point on as another defensive lapse allowed Benfica to go 0-2 up before the half, this time after our defense failed to detect a run into our box which never should have been allowed so much space.
From that point on however, the momentum slowly started to shift in our favour starting from the sending off of Benfica’s Ruben Dias just before half time. The red card seemed to be all the motivation that we needed as the second half was almost all ours. While the first half got off to the dream start for Benfica, it looked like the second half might have been ours for the taking. Just seven minutes in we saw ourselves halve the defecit when Klonaridis did well to latch onto a ball that Hult sent right into his path. Klonaridis was again the hero when, ten minutes after his first goal, he managed to level the score for AEK.
From this point on all of OAKA must have believed that we are on the verge of one of our best nights in European competition but after all the effort to even the match at 2-2, it just wasn’t meant to be. Despite doing all they could to make their way back into the match, another defensive lapse, this time in the middle of the pitch, allowed Benfica to score a third time and take back the lead. What made this goal harder to swallow than the others though is the fact that we so easily should have gone up 3-2 instead when just a minute prior, Klonaridis went for the hat trick instead of teeing up Giakoumakis who would have had the easiest tap in to finish for the lead. It was a mistake on Klonaridis’ part for sure, one which he apologized for after the match, but its tough to look back on that moment and realize just how close we were to completing a comeback that we’d remember for ages.
Our defending today was awful, theres no denying that. But theres also no denying that it was an impressive effort to get as close as we did to getting the win. Unfortunately though, we walk away from our second match without a single point, something which leaves us in a pretty uncomfortable position. On paper its not over. Currently both Ajax and Bayern are level on 4 points while Benfica is just behind them with 3. Theoretically that still leaves us with a chance of at least finishing third in the group. Having said that, we still have to face Bayern twice and while they may not be experiencing their best season in recent memory, I still can’t see us coming away with much from either of our matches against them. As one commenter online said, the fact that they still aren’t comfortably in 1st place just means they’ll be that much more desperate for the win when they face us…
It was an unfortunate outcome to say the least, but at this point its not really worth dwelling on what could have been. Afterall, we face Olympiakos in just a few days, a match which I don’t see being an easy one for us. The fact that Olympiakos play a Europa League match on Thursday is a positive for us, considering they may be a little more fatigued than us. Having said that, they’ll also be just as anxious to get the win as us having just lost at home to PAOK in a game which they really should have won. One thing is for sure, if this game is anything like recent AEK – Olympiakos fixtures, we should be in for a good one.
The moment many of us have been waiting for, the draw for this season’s Champions League Group Stages, took place earlier today. The result: we’ll be up against Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Ajax. While it was impossible to foresee an “easy” draw, I’m pretty excited about this one. Obviously the games against Bayern will be especially tough, I feel like we have a chance to snag a few points from our games against Benfica and Ajax. Do we have a chance to go through to the knockout rounds? Sure. Are we favourites? Of course not, but its hard to say any of the teams aside from Bayern are favourites to advance.
Exciting times lie ahead for sure and regardless of the outcome, I think its safe to say that its going to be be great to finally watch AEK in the Champions League again. This year’s campaign will start off in Amsterdam on the 19th of September as we take on Ajax, last season’s Eredivisie runner ups. Hmm, I’ve always wanted to visit Amsterdam…
Oh, and it seems like the players are also pretty excited about what lies ahead this season:
After our 2-0* win against PAOK earlier in the week (it feels like ages since we beat them), its come down to a match-up between PAO and AEK to decide who will be Greece’s second team to attempt to make their mark in the Champions League. Thanks to Chelsea’s win against Bayern in the final today, whichever team goes on to win the playoffs will be placed in the stronger group for qualifying matches and will play against lower seeded teams (definitely good news!).
I really think we have a chance of getting the win tomorrow, though it will not be easy (it never is really). PAO will want this just as much as us, and their supporters will be there. Not sure what to expect for this one, but Im sure we’ll be going all out, its do or die now, nothing but a win will be good enough and we have nothing to lose. PAO, on the other hand, might very well be playing for the draw (we’ve seen them do this in the past), so lets see what happens.
*Libe and Leo were our goal scorers for the match. This was Libe’s last home game for us, sadly, and Dellas’ as well.
Two legendary players for AEK (and Greece). Respected the shirt, always gave the most they could, rarely, if ever, caused any trouble. Players that AEK and Greek football will miss. Players that we dont see as often these days, yet players that our league so desperately needs.
And as much as I love Dellas, I will miss Libe more than I’ll ever miss another AEK player. He’s been with AEK through the good and bad times, never complained, always accepted lower wages, always gave all he had to offer on the pitch. Even at 36 years old this season, he was still scoring goals (and some beautiful ones indeed). Its not often that you find a player who is so respected by AEK and PAO fans, and I certainly wont be surprised to see a standing ovation by the PAO supporters tomorrow. And I also wont be surprised to see Libe score a goal or two tomorrow as well!
AEK Archives 