AEK’s valuable solutions and positive balance sheet

It was sort of expected. Certainly normal, man. When four evenings ago everything was purple and not just red for a hundred minutes, with full reaction against a Premier League team that played either two thirds of the game in 11v11 mode or the remaining third in 11-on-10 mode physically and mentally dominated, then the emptying and today’s image of AEK in the hospitality of Aris is logical and next.

This year less creative than ever before in their “home”. Less effective in her pressing, in the meters and intensities she is used to playing, in the… intimidation she inflicts on her opponents, be it in defense or attack, insecure in defense, dysfunctional in offense against a team that didn’t… fish, that was a good read (for her second game in a row against a title contender) and even though she didn’t get anything in the OPAP Arena, she can now boast that she has her own competitive chip now changed irrevocably.

Apparently such evenings are also part of the program for AEK. First, their coaching staff should (should) know. But even from a simple, non-scientific point of view, it is logical that after… 110%, the next one, whoever it is, the speed will decrease. By far.

The question on such evenings is the solutions. Minimizing – if not eliminating – the damage. AEK won, took the victory, stayed one point from the top, so they found and achieved what they expected from their final in the first half of the championship, at least as far as accounting is concerned.

Once again from the static phase. Well, it’s not a coincidence. That can’t be. It started in Zagreb with Galanopoulos’ winning goal. The rematch with Dinamo continued. From a corner the 1:2, from a corner the penalty won, which brought the equalizer, which meant that extra time and qualification were avoided.

In Volos, two free kicks led to the first two goals, one of them directly. In Brighton the first two also came from corners and free kicks, another from a corner was “written” in the Ajax host, two in the following Panaitolikos host, one in Tripoli against Asteras and one against Lamia.

The total is 12 tonight (+1 penalty in the draw against Dinamo). The champions’ previous tally in all competitions is 33 goals. Minus the three volleys and the one own goal (Sneijderlan against Kifissia), there are 29. Of these, 12, or just over 40%, come from static phases.

Valuable, not just important. And not just in games that have gone their way, but also in games like tonight, which are challenging in many ways, games in which the original plan, the team’s processes do not work out and which do not play with the usual consistency and efficiency can be carried out.

AEK was unable to keep a clean sheet at the start of the season. Conceded goals in twelve games in a row. After tonight he has now not conceded a goal in six of his last seven games. It’s not always convincing in the way it defends, but it’s certainly a job saver and a clear improvement on this particular development.

And combined with their second consistent (and) problem this year, offensive inefficiency, this improvement is worth its weight in gold. Because now it allows her to win even with the minimal – and anything but usual – 1-0. As he did last week when he lost a lot of goals in Ioannina, as he did tonight, with a completely different image, once again finding the solution from a static phase.

Weapons in the quiver of champions. Whether they are stronger or not, whether they are capable or not, whether they are enough for the rest of the season and their bid to retain the domestic Premier League, no one knows yet. The only known, tangible thing is the reckoning, the comparison – immediately – with the corresponding moment from last year.

The differences, the essential differences, that the account highlights are not major, anything but. 9-2-2, 29 points and 23-5 goals last year, 9-3-1, 30 points and 23-9 goals this year. But the most important thing for the Union, whether they are the same or better or worse this year on their completely different path (thanks to the double competition front), is that last year they were -8 behind the pioneers Panathinaikos, now they are within of a point.

This year there were a total of nine more games in the same comparison period. And games against opponents that have nothing to do with anything she faces domestically, games in which she has been competitive, putting her further away from securing (at least) two more internationals in 2024.

Therefore, it is probably not unreasonable to claim that AEK is not just underweight in this year’s fully comparable scale, which is available for the first time this evening.