Oliveira finding his feet in Athens
While AEK are still crying out for a clinical goalscorer, Portuguese striker Nelson Oliveira has made a strong start to life in Athens with four goals in 10 games.
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Oliveira joined AEK in need of giving his career a boost. When AEK gave Oliveira the call, he was reportedly dubious about playing in Greece, but the 28-year-old has shown plenty of desire in the first few months of the season while making a contribution to 10 AEK goals; the own goal scored by Christos Mandas in the match with Atromitos happened as a result of Oliveira’s shot cannoning back off the upright.
Moreover, that particular game against Atromitos at the Olympic Stadium was probably Oliveira’s best showing in an AEK shirt so far. After his shot had resulted in Mandas’ own goal, Oliveira then got on the scoresheet when alertly taking advantage of a poor goalkeeping error, before he won the game for AEK in stoppage time as he connected with Petros Mantalos’ intelligent flicked header. A vital goal which handed AEK three hugely important points as the Enosis remain within striking distance of the leading pair.
These are Oliveira’s AEK statistics with 10 games in the books across all tournaments:
Super League: 6 appearances, 4 goals, 2 assists*
UEFA Europa League qualifiers: 4 appearances, 0 goals, 3 assists
*All assists include the two penalties which he won for AEK in the matches against Trabzonspor and Volos NFC
Oliveira was key in the victory against Volos at the Georgios Kamaras Stadium. With the score locked at 1-1, an onrushing Oliveira earned a penalty for AEK as he was tripped by opposing goalkeeper Athanasios Garavelis, and he went on to provide the assist for Mantalos’ winning goal.
Asides from the game against Atromitos last weekend, Oliveira’s other goals were scored in a defeat to Xanthi at the OAKA (1-2) and a pulsating victory at Asteras Tripolis (3-2). At times, Oliveira has appeared rather slow and ponderous on the pitch, but his improvement is clear for all to see as he gradually begins to feel more comfortable in Nikos Kostenoglou’s system. His mutual understanding with Mantalos has particularly stood out.
Oliveira is highly unlikely to become such a prolific scorer as Ezequiel Ponce. Without a doubt, AEK do really lack a player of Ponce’s quality and characteristics, but Oliveira boasts a wealth of experience and is proving that he capable of making the difference in tight, tense matches. The only games which he has missed in the current campaign were against Lamia, Panetolikos and PAOK after he received an injury.
AEK will certainly be hoping that Oliveira stays clear of future injuries, especially that the Kitrinomavri only have Giorgos Giakoumakis as the back-up option for the position of centre forward. Oliveira is aiming at prolonging his good run of form this weekend when AEK face Athenian rivals Panathinaikos in a key derby.
