One of the surprise entities of this year’s UECL, Samsunspor once again found themselves ahead early doors against AEK.
It took just four minutes for the hosts to break the deadlock, but there was a hefty slice of luck involved when AEK defender Harold Moukoudi put the ball into his own net.
It was a clumsy error from the centre-back, but it was perhaps the visitors counting their blessings that Samsunspor only led by one at the break. Olivier Ntcham and Carlo Holse both threatened with efforts from inside the box, while sharp defending from the AEK backline was all that prevented Marius Mouandilmadji from nodding in at close range.
After riding their luck throughout the opening 45 minutes, AEK rallied at the break and found themselves level just after the restart.
Razvan Marin was the man to equalise, with the winger whipping a stylish free-kick into the far left corner for Samsunspor’s goal.
With the momentum having swung in AEK’s favour, the Greek side continued piling on the pressure and found themselves ahead just 10 minutes later. This time, Aboubakary Koita delivered the goods after Lazaros Rota picked the attacker out inside the Samsunspor box.
After falling behind, Samsunspor upped the ante in search of an equaliser, but efforts from Ntcham and Rick van Drongelen failed to trouble AEK’s 2-1 lead. It’s a disappointing end to a match that promised so much more for Samsunspor, especially given they’re now winless in each of their previous five outings across all competitions.
Meanwhile, it’s a contrasting emotion for AEK, who leapfrog their opponents in the table and put themselves in a strong position to finish inside the top eight ahead of Matchday 6.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Razvan Marin (AEK Athens)