Carrera: “Araujo showed great quality”
After defeating Panathinaikos at home in the Super League, AEK boss Massimo Carrera revealed his delight, while Giorgos Donis wasn’t happy with the second half.
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Sergio Araujo is up to his old tricks again. With eight minutes on the clock, the 28-year-old scored his first goal for AEK since returning to the club in January, curling a delightful effort beyond the despairing dive of Sokratis Dioudis. To their credit, Panathinaikos did regroup and created a handful of promising chances at the Olympic Stadium, but third-placed AEK held on to claim their maiden derby triumph since April 2018.
“First of all, I am very happy for both our players and fans,” beamed Carrera. “I am paid to make sure that my players follow our instructions. Of course, it was a very tough match against Panathinaikos, but we competed with passion and managed to earn the victory. For his goal, Sergio Araujo showed great quality, he made a lot of sacrifices for the team. It really was a beautiful goal!”
“In truth, we didn’t play well during the second half,” revealed Panathinaikos boss, Giorgos Donis. “However, Federico Macheda could have done better with his chance, and we completely controlled proceedings in the first half. We had enough chances to go ahead, not just to equalise. Now, we have to focus on the game against PAOK, they’re a really good team. We can’t say what will happen, but we’ll fight for qualification.”
Sergio Araujo, the AEK hero, was delighted to having made the difference at the OAKA: “I feel great when I have the confidence of the coach,” stated the hugely popular Argentine forward. “I’m delighted to be here, I moved back to AEK because of the fans, not money as was written in Spain. I still need to make improvements to my game, the adaptation process is ongoing. I am happy to help AEK win a derby again, and I remember my previous goals against Panathinaikos well.”
“It’s wonderful to have Sergio here again, we have excellent mutual understanding,” added AEK star, Marko Livaja. “When the fans cheer my name, it gives me both strength and more motivation to perform well, I always really want to help our team win. I agree with the coach that we must always play as a team, we have a good balance between defence and attack with him. Which Araujo goal was his best against Panathinaikos? The first one in 2018!”
“We were a lot more dangerous in the first half than in the second,” admitted Panathinaikos midfielder, Christos Donis. “AEK didn’t particularly threaten us, but they did manage to score a key goal. Were our thoughts on the upcoming match against PAOK? No, when I enter the field, I only think about that particular game. It was brilliant to wear the captain’s armband, of course!”
Panathinaikos teammate Achilleas Poungouras pointed out the missed opportunities: “After we conceded a goal, we had plenty of chances to score, but accuracy was lacking. Federico Macheda and Tasos Chatzigiovanis had particularly good opportunities. For their part, AEK didn’t create a lot of openings, but they won. PAOK? We did not play well at the Toumba Stadium, so now we have to make life difficult for them here.”
