September 21, 2023
It’s incredible to believe when the Albion were losing 0-1 at Hereford United in the last game of the 1996/97 season with 20 minutes left to play and they were heading out of the football league, that 26 years later they would be playing in Europe. Of course, Robbie Reinelt’s equalizer changed history and condemned Hereford to the Conference League instead.
Gradual improvements led to progress through the divisions, the building of the Amex Stadium and ultimately the achievements of Roberto de Zerbi and his team secured a fantastic 6th place in the Premier League and a place in the Europa League Group Stages.
Whilst some may have wished for an easier group, Albion have been drawn against two former Champions of Europe in Ajax and Marseille, with top Greek side AEK Athens completing the group. Indeed, it is the Greek side who will be Albion’s first opponents in official European competitions.
Albion go into the fixture in great form, having followed up a 3-1 home win over Champions League qualifiers Newcastle, with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford to sit fourth in the Premier League table with four wins out of five. Such is Brighton’s current standing very few people saw this result as a shock, and Albion extended their winning run over Manchester United in the Premier League to four matches. A move of 30+ passes leading to the second goal from Pascal Gross emphasized both the quality and confidence in the side despite the departures of Caicedo, MacAllister and Colwill.
AEK translated into English is the Athletic Union of Constantinople, with the club being founded in 1924 by refugees from Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War. Their traditional colours are yellow shirts with black shirts, and their emblem is a double-headed Eagle. Ex Brighton manager Gus Poyet was AEK’s coach in 2015/16.
AEK won the 2022/23 Greek title by finishing 5 points clear of Panathinaikos, with Olympiakos, winners of 15 of the last 18 championships, a further 5 points behind. Trinidad & Tobago striker Levi Garcia was their top scorer with 14 goals.
AEK overcame Dinamo Zagreb in a remarkable tie to reach the Champions League Play-Off round. Their home first leg was postponed following riots between fans of both sides in the afternoon before the kick-off in Athens in which one AEK supporter died. As a result, the return leg in Zagreb became the first leg, and a 90th minute goal gave AEK a 2-1 victory.
However, it was a different story in the second leg as Dinamo took a 2-0 lead and looked to be going through as the game moved into added on time. AEK pulled a goal back in the 92nd minute to level the aggregate score, and were then awarded a penalty for handball after a lengthy VAR review. It was one of those decision you think unfair when it goes against your side but think it is a penalty when it is in your favour !
Garcia’s spot-kick was saved by the Dinamo keeper but the rebound was smashed home by Croatian defender Domagoj Vida, ironically an ex-Dinamo player, for a winner in the 10th minute of added time. The TV replay suggested that Vida had encroached into the area when the kick was taken but this didn’t appear to be reviewed, so the goal stood !
The AEK side that started the second match against Dinamo Zagreb featured only one Greek, namely full-back Lazaros Rota.
In the Champions League play-off round AEK were paired against Royal Antwerp and travelled to Belgium for the first leg. Again, they only started with just one Greek player, this time keeper Georgios Athanasiadis, with Rota being rotated to the bench.
Antwerp opened the scoring in the 18th minute when ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker Vincent Janssen swept home following an astute pass from 18 year-old starlet Arthur Vermeeren.
Garcia had looked dangerous for AEK but had to leave the field with an injury just after the half-hour mark, but despite an impressive display from veteran Moroccan playmaker Nordin Amrabat, who looked by some distance the best player on the park, the game was evenly matched until Antwerp full-back Bataille was shown a red-card for a clumsy challenge on Gacinovic.
Despite the one-player disadvantage, Antwerp were not unduly troubled and comfortably held onto to their one goal advantage in the first leg, but it was still all to play for back in Athens, and the bookies made AEK favourites to progress.
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However, despite AEK having most of the possession, it was Antwerp who missed the best chances, until the Belgians took the lead in the 73rd minute with a swift counter-attack finished by substitute Kerk. AEK looked to be heading out, but Araujo scuffed an equaliser in added on time, and with 8 minutes still to play another escape similar to the one against Dinamo Zagreb suddenly seemed possible.
Antwerp though were made of sterner stuff, and as AEK threw numbers forward, Vermeeren’s first time pass put Balikwisha clear for a simple finish to give Antwerp the win on the night, and 3-1 on aggregate. As a result, AEK dropped to the Europa League group stages and now face Brighton !
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With their European commitments, AEK have been allowed to postpone several of their league fixtures and had played only twice in the League prior to this week-end. They started with a 1-1 home draw with unfancied Panserraikos but chalked up a 3-2 win at Volos despite being reduced to 10 men after 24 minutes following a red card to Manatolos. Following the resumption after the international break they faced a tough looking home match against Olympiakos before travelling to Sussex, and they could only draw the Athens derby 1-1. A Portuguese referee was appointed to handle the game to minimise any accusations of bias from a local official !
Amrabat was interestingly only on the bench, perhaps being saved for the game against Brighton, with Eliasson in the starting XI. AEK were denied early on by two good saves from the Olympiakos keeper and were then awarded a penalty in the 12th minute. However, VAR overturned the decision as the replays clearly showed that Rota was already diving before making a slight contact with the defender’s outstretched leg.
Rota did much better 10 minutes later to skip past two defenders, and his shot-cum-cross from the right gave Ponce a simple tap-in at the far post.
Olympiakos were back on level terms seven minutes before the interval as the AEK back-line were guilty of ball watching as El Kaabi ran onto a chip from just inside the right-hand side of the AEK area to head home from 6 yards.
AEK though they had retaken the lead mid-way through the second half following a neat finish from Araujo. Unfortunately for AEK, the ball had struck the arm of Pineda in the build up to the move, and VAR chalked off the goal. Although not even on the pitch, AEK defender Sidibe was shown the red card for his protests against the goal being disallowed.
AEK Key Players :
Nordin Amrabat - veteran Moroccan play-maker ( 64 caps ), who had a spell at Watford as well as PSV, Galatasaray and Malaga. Outstanding in the first leg in Antwerp but anonymous in the return.
Levi Garcia – Trinidad and Tobago striker ( 36 caps ). Top scorer in 2022/23 league campaign ( 14 goals ) but injured in first leg against Antwerp, and still struggling to be fit for the tie at the Amex.
Ehsan Haj Safi - ex-Grasshoppers Iranian left-back ( 131 caps )
Steven Zuber – ex Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt Swiss midfielder ( 51 caps )
Damien Symanski – captain and has made 14 appearances for Poland
Other Notable Players :
Djibril Sidibe - ex-Lille and Monaco French defender, but had an unimpressive spell at Everton
Niclas Eliasson – ex Bristol City Swedish winger
Ezequiel Ponce – ex-Spartak Moscow and Lille Argentinian striker.
Orbelin Pineda – Mexico midfielder ( 60 caps )
Sergio Arajuo – Argentinian striker, formerly with Boca Juniors and Las Palmas
Domagoj Vida – ex-Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kiev and Besiktas Croatian centre-back ( 102 caps )
Mijat Gacinovic – ex-Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim Serbian midfielder ( 23 caps )
Jens Jonsson – ex-Aarhus Danish midfielder ( 5 caps )
Cican Stankovic – ex RB Salzburg Austrian keeper ( 4 caps )
Giorgios Athanasiadis – keeper, played for Sheriff Tiraspol in their historic run in 2021/22 where they won at Real Madrid
Petros Mantalos – Greek midfielder ( 55 caps )
Lazaros Rota – Greek left-back ( 9 caps ). Previously with Fortuna Sittard and Zemplin Michalovce
Milad Mohammadi – ex Gent Iranian left-back ( 50 caps )
Odds :
Bet365.com currently make Albion 2/9 favourites to win, with AEK rank 11/1 outsiders and the draw at 5/1. Incredibly, Brighton are 12/1 second favourites to win the competition !!!
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