Brighton secured a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League after João Pedro’s second-half penalty earned an unconvincing victory against 10-man AEK Athens. The in-form forward hit his fifth goal of the competition in the 55th minute to guarantee the visitors a top-two finish in Group B.
Prior to the VAR-given penalty, Brighton were not performing as well as their opponents and were lucky to not concede a goal towards the end of the first half when AEK’s Steven Zuber hit the post. The energetic home team had to play with one less player for the remaining 25 minutes after Mijat Gacinovic received his second yellow card.
In two weeks, the Amex Stadium will host a match between Brighton and Marseille, with Brighton competing for the top spot in the pool and secure a spot in the last 16.
Brighton’s first time competing in Europe began with a disappointing 3-2 loss to the Greek champions in September. However, the team from the Premier League had the chance to determine their own fate when they arrived at the AEK Arena after a hard-fought draw against Marseille and two consecutive victories against Ajax.
Roberto De Zerbi made adjustments to his initial team composition for the match against Nottingham Forest, which included bringing back the decisive player, Pedro. Despite dealing with injuries, his team started the game with a strong advantage.
Evan Ferguson was twice blocked as he threatened inside two minutes, while the AEK defender Domagoj Vida came close to a calamitous own goal with a firm back pass that had the goalkeeper, Cican Stankovic, scampering across his line.
However, despite a promising beginning, Brighton’s performance became disjointed and they were consistently at risk of falling behind. AEK’s Zuber threatened with a strong shot that required Bart Verbruggen to make a save, and then narrowly missed with a header from the resulting corner.
Brighton narrowly avoided conceding a goal right before halftime, despite facing continuous pressure from the home team. Swiss player Zuber skillfully maneuvered in the penalty area with agility, but his shot was deflected off Dunk and hit the left post. His teammate Gacinovic was unable to score off the rebound.
Verbruggen had to make a save from Gacinovic after the game resumed before Brighton unexpectedly took the lead during a crucial period. The referee, Sandro Schärer, initially ignored Pedro falling to the ground under pressure from AEK captain Damian Szymanski, but then awarded a penalty after watching a replay of the incident on the side of the field.
Pedro, the Brazilian forward, scored his sixth penalty of the season, and his third against AEK. He sent Stankovic the wrong way to secure his weekend double as a substitute, following his performance at Forest.
Ignore the advertisement for the newsletter.
after newsletter promotion
Before scoring the first goal, Brighton did not pose much of a threat. Their situation became even better 10 minutes later when their midfielder from Serbia, Gacinovic, lost control of the ball and accidentally stepped on Joël Veltman, resulting in his second booking.
Ferguson was close to increasing Brighton’s lead but was stopped by Stankovic as he attempted to go around him after being given a clear opportunity.
After the AEK midfielder Orbelin Pineda missed a shot, the home team tried to tie the game, but Brighton managed to hold on without much difficulty, securing their spot in the next round of European competition despite their lackluster performance.
Source: theguardian.com
