Stuttering AEK in serious need of improvement

In his debut campaign at the helm of AEK, Marinos Ouzounidis hasn’t had it easy, trying to balance the commitment of playing in the UEFA Champions League with the defence of the Super League title. AGONAsport investigates AEK’s first third of the season.

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Being competitive on three separate fronts is always tough. In the 2017/2018 season, AEK managed to cope with the testing schedule, but with a much thinner squad this time around, they’re in trouble and the performance level has dropped dramatically. Let’s analyse how AEK have played in the Super League, UEFA Champions League and Greek Cup up to this date:

Super League

As the reigning Greek champions, AEK are burdened with the added pressure of defending their title, however they haven’t coped with the task at hand. After 10 rounds, the Kitrinomavri occupy a lowly fifth place of the standings, currently trailing leaders PAOK by a large nine points. Yes, we’re not even half-way through the campaign yet, but AEK’s chances of retaining the trophy look rather grim. A major shift in momentum would have to occur for that to happen, and at this moment in time, it simply doesn’t appear feasible.

Taking into account the departures of key men Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Sergio Araujo, Jakob Johansson, Ognjen Vranjes and coach Manolo Jimenez, it promised to be a big ask of AEK to stay on top of the Greek pile, but the belief which was so key last year just isn’t there. The disappointing derby results haven’t helped. Two poor errors from Vasilis Lampropoulos allowed PAOK to defeat AEK 2:0 in a tight encounter, Anastasios Bakasetas saved a point against Olympiacos in a dramatic battle at the Olympic Stadium, and the Enosi failed to beat a young, albeit talented, Panathinaikos side. The 0:2 loss to high flying Atromitos on November 11 was a crushing blow to the Athenians’ hopes.

Just to make matters worse, AEK received a three point deduction from the Super League table for unsavoury scenes witnessed between fans and police around the periphery of the OAKA during the encounter with Olympiacos, a contentious punishment which naturally infuriated the club. AEK have won six games in the domestic championship, drawing two and losing the other two. The team will play Panetolikos (A), Xanthi (H), PAS Lamia 1964 (H), AE Lamia (A) and Levadiakos (H) in the remaining games scheduled for 2018, and given the calibre of opponents, only a full haul of points would be an acceptable result.

UEFA Champions League

Much more was expected of AEK. Having gone undefeated in 10 UEFA Europa League matches in the 2017/2018 season, before beating Celtic (3:2) and Vidi (3:2) in UEFA Champions League qualifying, many thought AEK would be competitive in the group stage, but it hasn’t worked out that way.

With four games in the books, the Greeks are rock bottom of Group A, already out of the running for a knockout berth. In the opening match, AEK were comprehensively beaten 0:3 by Ajax in Amsterdam, but in the second fixture, the Kitrinomavri missed a glorious chance to tally points. Hosting Benfica at the OAKA, AEK fought back from a two-goal deficit with a brilliant brace from winger Viktor Klonaridis, but after the 26-year old passed up a chance to seal his hat trick, the Portuguese opponents (now down to 10 men) scored a killer third with their sole attempt of the second half. The match was probably AEK’s ‘easiest’ in the group and was certainly winnable.

Predictably, they struggled against German giants Bayern Munich, dropping two successive 0:2 defeats. AEK must now beat Ajax (H) and Benfica (A) in the concluding two games to stand any chance of dropping into the Europa League.

Greek Cup

In the past two campaigns, AEK have lost to PAOK in the showpiece final of the Greek Cup, and the competition is the team’s best chance of winning silverware this season. Placed in Group B, the capital club comfortably saw off the challenge of Lamia (2:1) and Apollon Larissa (4:0) in the first two matches, automatically guaranteeing progress to the Last 16 with the game against Volos NFC still to come. Against Lamia, AEK were trailing for a large part of the second half, however classy goals from Giorgos Giakoumakis and Rodrigo Galo snatched a 2:1 triumph. The team had no trouble in easing past Football League outfit Apollon 4:0 in Larissa with academy prospects Giannis-Fivos Botos and Giannis Sardelis taking a starring role.

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: to10.gr

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