AEK’s early-season woes continue in Super League opener
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1
AEK’s early-season problems continued to snowball on Sunday as Miguel Cardoso’s team slipped to a poor 2-1 home defeat by Xanthi in their Super League opener at the Olympic Stadium.
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Second-half goals from William and Jean Barrientos put Xanthi in complete control of the match after a goalless first half following the early sending off of AEK’s Francisco Geraldes just after the half-hour mark.
AEK, who produced another woeful display looking disjointed and out of sync, tried to fight back in the closing stages and Nélson Oliveira produced a stunning strike to give the home fans hope.
But there was no equaliser to rescue a point and Cardoso will now come under further pressure as he looks to try and turn around what has been a completely uninspiring start to the new season on both domestic and European fronts.
THE MATCH
Chances were at a premium in a first-half characterized by anxious play on the part of the home side, who looked to be still reeling from their disastrous 3-1 midweek defeat to Trabzonspor in the Europa League playoff first leg.
Much of the criticism has been aimed at Cardoso and his recruitment policy of bringing in a number of Portuguese players over the summer who have flattered to deceive so far. And it was one of them in Geraldes who made AEK’s task difficult in this match.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who is on loan from Sporting Lisbon, was sent off in the 34th minute after picking up a second yellow card for a needless foul.
From then on AEK, who had had the upper hand in an albeit nervy start, struggled to open up the visitors who were playing to contain the home side and break on the counter attack.
AEK’s best chance came in the first minute of added time when a great cross from Petros Mantalos found Nelson Oliveira, but his header was off target.
Xanthi grew in confidence as the match wore on and after a spell of pressure, the visitors made a crucial breakthrough in the 67th minute with the opening goal. William was the man on target, firing home the rebound from close range after AEK goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas blocked a cross from Fábio Sturgeon.
AEK fans began to chant “AEK, AEK, this is not AEK”, making their views clear to Cardoso and his players, and things went from bad to worse 12 minutes from full-time when Barrientos surged through on goal and clipped the ball beyond a helpless Barkas to make it 2-0.
There was a reaction from the home players, but it was too little too late. All they could muster was a consolation goal from Oliveira, who was teed up perfectly by an excellent Mantalos assist.
The result is a fantastic one for Kiko Ramirez’s Xanthi, but it also leaves more questions than answers surrounding an AEK side who seem to be moving towards complete implosion week-by-week.
STARTING LINEUPS
AEK: 1 Barkas (K), 2 Bakakis, 4 Economou, 23 Hult, 24 Svarnas, 6 Krsticic, 7 Verde, 8 Simoes, 12 Geraldes, 20 Mandalos (C), 18 Oliveira
Xanthi:1 Abad (Gk), 7 Sturgeon, 3 Barrientos, 4 Karasalidis, 5 Baxevanidis, 9 Kovacevic, 10 Durickovic, 88 Rennella, 28 Terki, 25 Sosa, 23 Malezas
