The fact that Bayern Munich was an opponent that AEK had very little chances of defeating was something that almost all fans of the ‘black-and-yellows’ knew. Still, that didn’t stop them from showing up at the Olympic Stadium of Athens on Tuesday night to show their support against an overwhelming opponent and break a record that was maintained since 12 years ago and the game versus AC Milan.
The champions played with a crowd of 56,000 people on their side who had been hungry for these types of games since the team fell into troubled times and the Greek third division. The battle of the stands was won by AEK with a huge majority, however what happened inside the pitch was an entirely different story.
Marinos Ouzounidis used the best possible line up, with the exception of usual absentees Marco Livaja and Helder Lopez. Mantalos and Bakasetas were on the wings, with Klonaridis behind Ezequiel Ponce, while Chygrynskiy was on defence.
However Bayern coach Niko Kovac didn’t seem to hold anything back either, with Lewandowski, Robben and Thiago all getting a position in the starting eleven.
Predictably, it was the German champions who had most possession of the ball from the beginning, yet they were lacking that decisive final attempt. Most of the first half was wasted, with Bayern having only a few good efforts through James and Lewandowski, but nothing too threatening for AEK, who themselves found their own opportunity to give their fans something to cheer about, yet Ponce’s shot after a cross from Bakakis was off target.
The second half saw the home team try to gain a bit more possession of the ball and to gain some space on the field, with Galanopoulos opening up the Bayern defence on the 53rd minute and passing the ball to Bakasetas at the right moment. However the latter’s shot was again nowhere near Neuer’s goal.
Three minutes later, AEK threatened Bayern yet again but Klonaridis’ bicycle kick was out of bounds. AEK had begun to let their excitement get the better of them and leave open space in their defence, something that a team of Bayern’s quality knows how to capitalise on. Which they did on the 61st minute, as during a counter attack and a failed attempt to clear the ball, Javi Martinez found himself with space and opened the score for his team.
With their spirits down after the shock of the goal, the AEK players let their guard down and Lewandowski took advantage of a cross from the right and did what he makes a living out of: pushed the ball into the back of the net to double the lead for Bayern and end the dream for the Greek champions.
After that, the players were no longer stressed and the substitutions made by Ouzounidis helped AEK gain some ground on the pitch, yet no clear chances were made.
Once the game was over, the AEK manager commented that his team really put in an effort, but against a team of Bayern’s quality, the matter was simply out of their hands.
In the other game of the group, Ajax got an impressive 1-0 win against Benfica in Amsterdam, which means that both the Dutch champions and Bayern have 7 points in group E, while Benfica have 3 and AEK have 0.