He cleared him with summary procedures Asteras AKTOR and caught top of AEK! His team Matias Almeida was impressive, found a quick lead of two goals with “paintings” by Hadjisafi-Fernandes and taking advantage of the two expulsions of the guests, prevailed with the emphatic 3-0.
Together with Aris on 21 points, AEK is waiting for the result of the Toumba derby between PAOK and Olympiacos to know if they will have another roommate or if they will both fall from the first place.
Bad match of them Arkadonthey had a great phase to equalize with Regis and nothing else, while playing fatally from point to point to not concede any more goals and keep the score relatively low. Somehow, they suffered their first away defeat, being disappointing, avoiding relegation and looking like a… different pitch, going so hard on their opponents for no reason. Bad reactions from Tsintotas in the goals, especially in the second one, which ends the match, carries a lot of responsibility!
More than 25 finals for the “yellow and black”, who tried to score a lot of goals, with Martial and Hadjisafi in particular, without, of course, anyone falling behind.
In the coach’s mind
Matias Almeida lined up AEK with 4-2-3-1. At home, Strakosa and Rota, Vida, Cullens, Hadjisafi in the defensive four. Jonson and Pereira in midfield, Mandalos in front of them, with Fernandes, Martial on the wings and Levi Garcia at the top of the attack.
Same arrangement by Savvas Pantelidis for Asteras AKTOR. Tsintotas in goal and Alcho, Triantafyllopoulos, Deli and Houhoumis in defense. On the axis, Alagbe, Mumo, with Zougli, Bartolo and Regis moving behind the promoted Makeda.
The match
Absolute dominance of AEK in the first half except for one case. The “yellow and black” took the reins of the game from the start, loaded Martial’s side enough and the quick goal came from the feet of the Frenchman in the 9th minute, when he turned inside the area and -forgotten by Astera’s defense- Hadjisafi scored with an awesome heel for 1-0. Three minutes later, Mandalos saw Tsintotas stop the strong shot he attempted, with the Arkades from the 20th minute onwards becoming discouraged.
They even had a huge chance to equalize when they developed brilliantly, Maceda turned to Bartolo, who broke to the unmarked Regis, but the latter fired over the crossbar from the height of the area. After Asteras AKTOR didn’t find a goal in his one, but big phase in the first half, he paid for it five minutes later. Fernandez with a sweet free kick put the ball over the wall, Tsintotas didn’t react well and saw the ball end up in the back of his net for the second time for 2-0 in the 31st minute.
In the 34th minute, Levia broke to Cullens who made a terrible run but failed to beat Tsintotas and in the caps the match became even more favorable for the home team and it seemed to be… lost for good for the visitors, since Alagbe was duly sent off as he went with the plugs to the stomach of Fernandes. The rest of the first part had no other “excitement”, with AEK going to the locker room with a clear lead.
Pantelidis dropped Tzandaris instead of Zouglis at the start of the second half, Asteras came on for three minutes with the aim of surprising and created two moments. First, with Bartolo’s shot, which also went against Mumo taking the rebound, but it didn’t find a goal. In the next phase and after the contests, the ball stayed in AEK’s territory, but Makeda did something between a shot and a turn, without actually threatening.
Almeida started to freshen up his team and the tempo stayed at a high level. Kind of like that it was 3-0 in the 58th minute with Levia avoiding Delhi nicely, chipping in for Chintota and find the net for a second straight match. Two minutes later, Mandalos almost missed the target, while in the 65th minute Hadjisafi scored his second personal goal with Tsintota and the crossbar denying him.
Asteras was trying to keep the score relatively low, but even that effort made it even more difficult. Zandaris went hard on Rota, Tzilos showed him the yellow card but was called for an on field review. After checking the phase again, the referee changed the color of the card to red with the Arcades left with nine! Piero scored after a shaky intervention by Tsintota, but the goal was disallowed for offside, with the “yellow and black” constantly looking to score more goals.
The final stretch of the match found AEK creating more chances, with Piero, Lamela, Martial, Koita among the players who made the finals. A little bit of failure, a little bit of Tsintotas, they managed to keep the score as it was. The final 3-0 found the Union achieving a second win in a row and going calmly into the break, with the aim of working ahead of the restart and the away derby with Olympiakos, while the Arkades host PAOK in another very difficult match.
MVP: Paolo Fernandez will receive the award. He wins himself and scores the free kick for 2-0, while in general he created several cracks and troubled the opposing defense. He vindicates Almeida for choosing to start him in the starting lineup.
The whistle: Tzilos had two phases to manage, deciding to send off Alagbe and Jandari for harsh marking on opponents, leaving Asteras AKTOR with nine. In Piero’s disallowed goal it is clear that he is exposed, the assistant doesn’t see it, but the VAR intervenes to not count.
AEK (Matias Almeida): Strakosa, Rota, Callens (70′ Gacinovic), Vida, Hadjisafi, Jonson, Pereira (57′ Pineda), Martial, Fernandes (63′ Coita), Mandalos (63′ Lamela), Levia Garcia (70 ‘ Piero).
Asteras AKTOR (Savvas Pantelidis): Tsintotas, Alho, Deli, Triantafyllopoulos, Houhoumis, Alagbe, Mumo (83′ Tzimas), Zouglis (46′ Jandaris), Regis (64′ Alvares), Bartolo (83′ Billet), Makeda (77 ‘ Regic).
Source: Sport Fm
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