AEK Athens were fortunate not to lose against Kifisia after displaying a serious lack of concentration during a 1-1 draw, sports commentator Kostas Ketsetzoglou said.
Speaking on protothema.gr's show The Football Show by Stoiximan, Ketsetzoglou said Kifisia deserved to win the match based on the overall performance of both teams.
Ketsetzoglou compared AEK's display to their recent match against Bulgarian side Levski Sofia. He noted that if the teams had swapped shirts, with Levski wearing AEK's yellow and black and AEK wearing white, the game would have looked almost identical apart from player quality.
The commentator pointed to the opening minute of the match, when AEK allowed Kifisia a major opportunity with a close-range header. He said that if a player of Luka Jovic's quality had received that chance, as happened in the Levski Sofia fixture, Kifisia likely would have scored in the first minute.
Early struggles and late collapse
AEK required about 30 minutes to get into the game and were lucky not to fall behind during that opening spell, according to Ketsetzoglou. The team later improved, created goalscoring opportunities, and scored to take the lead.
However, AEK failed to manage their advantage in the closing stages. Instead of locking down the victory, they allowed Kifisia to create three clear chances in the final minutes and left an opposing player unpressured to shoot and score the equaliser for 1-1.
Ketsetzoglou said AEK's inability to control the match after taking the lead was the most striking aspect of the performance. He concluded that the fundamental problem for Enosi was a complete lack of focus and a flaw in mindset.
Club background and context
AEK Athens, commonly known as Enosi, are one of the most successful football clubs in Greece. Kifisia FC are based in the northern suburbs of Athens and compete alongside AEK in Greek domestic football, while Levski Sofia are twenty-six time Bulgarian league champions based in Sofia.
