AEK’s obligations in the UEFA Champions League have come to a disappointing close, after the ‘black-and-yellows’ suffered yet another loss at the hands of Benfica at the Da Luz.

AEK ended the game with ten men and with their manager Marinos Ouzounidis being expelled due to continued protests to the referee for decisions made against his team.

Ouzounidis started the game with Galanopoulos, Cosic and Moran in midfield, a choice that proved sufficient to keep the Portuguese out of Barkas’ area for the first half, despite the pressure that they were up against.

The Lisbon ‘eagles’ were forced to go to the changing rooms under the disapproving chants of their own crowd who were unimpressed with their team’s display.

However, things took a turn for the worse for the Greek club in the second half, as Benfica came back far more determined to break the deadlock and showed their intentions as early as the 70th minute through Seferovic who’s header found the post of Barkas.

A few minutes earlier, AEK had their own chance with Cosic, whose header went inches wide, but things only got worse from there, as the Greek champions were reduced to ten men four minutes before the 90, after a dangerous challenge made by Galanopoulos on Jedson.

The red card saw Ouzounidis go in a fit of rage against referee Bobby Madden, who had no choice but to expel him from the bench.

As if that wasn’t enough, two minutes later Benfica found the goal that they were looking for as Grimaldo managed to finally beat Barkas from up close and write the final 1-0 score.

Benfica almost scored a second as well, however it wasn’t meant to be for Seferovic, as yet another of his efforts hit the woodwork on the 89th minute.

After the game was over, Ouzounidis appeared to be extremely frustrated in his statements, pointing out that while his team is receiving harsh treatment on the pitch, the referees don’t seem to pay attention, while the tiniest bit of contact from his own players towards the opposition gets heavy punishment.

With this result, AEK is officially knocked out from all European competitions and now carries a negative record, as they have become the first team in the history of Greek football to participate in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and not manage to get a single point for their efforts.