AEK 0-1 Brighton: British commit another robbery in Athens

Move over Elgin Marbles, the British have just committed an even greater robbery from Greece. We refer the UNESCO board who looks at these things to the case of AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton.

Quite how the Albion made it into half time not trailing to AEK was a bigger mystery than why the casting director of Mama Mia thought Pierce Brosnan could carry an ABBA tune.

The Seagulls were slow, ponderous and wasteful in possession. It was as if they had enjoyed one too many ouzos under the Aegean sun… and frankly, who can blame them? It is delightful yet potent stuff.

AEK racked up chance after the chance. Bart Verbruggen made some important saves and the upright of the goal saved Brighton like Perseus rescuing Andromeda.

The first half in particular was one way traffic. In that period, AEK were so wasteful as to remind us all of what it was like watching Brighton under Glow Up Graham Potter.

And then it got even more like watching Brighton under Glow Up Graham Potter. A second half goal totally against the run of play for the team who had been under the cosh.

Except this time, it was the Albion committing the crime. Mr Europa League Joao Pedro scored his fifth goal of the competition so far – four of them penalties – to ensure it finished AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton.

Daylight robbery. Rather like back in the early 1800s, when the pillaging of those aforementioned Elgin Marbles resulted in the British Museum having in its possession an ancient Greek artefact.

For Brighton, what they left Athens with was far more precious – three points which guarantees the Albion a place in the Europa League beyond Christmas.

Based on his team selection, De Zerbi clearly wanted to seal that deal at the OPAP Arena as he went with what was his strongest available XI.

Evan Ferguson was given rare consecutive starts, Kaoru Mitoma and Igor Julio were thrown straight back into the starting line up after injury and Pascal Gross was asked to complete yet another 90 minutes. Gross continues to display powers of longevity that would leave even the gods of ancient Greece in awe.

Whether De Zerbi was torn between naming a full strength side or giving those who have been overworked a rest we do not know.

What we do know is he spent enough time pondering it all to not have considered his own position on the Elgin Marbles in the event a journalist asked in his press conference before AEK 0-1 Brighton.

Lo and behold, that is exactly what happened – resulting in one of the most bizarre yet fantastic exchanges any Albion manager has ever been involved in.

Makes you want to know what Mark McGhee thought of the Good Friday Agreement or whether Steve Gritt agreed with the handover of Hong Kong to China.

Ever the diplomat, De Zerbi said: “In Italy we fight with all countries but I don’t know about this.” 24 hours after that strangest of press conferences and it was his Brighton side showing the fight.

The Albion actually started the better team and might have taken the lead had Ferguson brought his shooting boots. Two efforts on goal from the Irish teenage sensation were blocked by AEK goalkeeper Cican Stankovic and then a covering defender.

He had also left his shooting head behind as from the corner caused by that second block, Lewis Dunk nodded back across goal towards the Ferguson to squander another decent chance.

A bad back pass nearly caused AEK to score an own goal and Simon Adingra should have done better when cutting inside in what was a promising opening 10 minutes for Brighton.

But then it started going wrong. Orbelin Pineda volleyed just wide. Verbruggen saved from all of Damian Szymanski, Pineda and Steven Zuber.

Zuber flicked on a corner which flew an inch past the upright. The same player then hit the post via a Dunk deflection.

The rebound landed straight onto the head of Majit Gacinovic, who could not quite react in time to divert the ball into the unguarded net. Instead, it brushed the top of the bar.

Half time came and it all felt very similar to the 2-2 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome; Brighton second best to everything, looking tired and struggling to cope with a hostile atmosphere. The crucial difference being Marseille took two of their chances that night whereas AEK had taken zero.

Brighton had grown into proceedings in the south of France once the second half got underway. Could they do so again in the Greek capital?

The answer to that initially looked like a no. AEK were straight back on the attack and it needed Verbruggen to make another key intervention, fisting away a Gacinovic effort to prevent the hosts taking the lead.

Then out of nowhere, the Albion won a penalty. Or to be more precise, Pedro won a penalty – thanks to some help from VAR, who sent the referee to the monitor after he initially ruled no foul.

Pedro’s goal scoring record in the Europa League so far has received much praise, but amongst all that it is almost unnoticed that he has earned three of the four penalties he has converted.

It is like the Little Britain sketch which used to take the piss out of Dennis Waterman. “Write the theme tune, sing the theme tune.” For Pedro, it is win the penalty, convert the penalty.

Which is what Pedro did. Stankovic went the wrong way and completely against the run of play, the scoreboard read AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton.

Things got worse for AEK 11 minutes later when they were reduced to 10 men. A succession of fouls suggested home heads were already starting to go, culminating in a second yellow for Gacinovic when he clumsily stamped on Joel Veltman in a misguided attempt to win the ball.

For the briefest of minutes, Brighton became an attacking force for the first time in over an hour as AEK tried to adapt to life with only 10 men.

Ferguson went through one-on-one, only for Stankovic to get his timing perfect in sprawling at the feet of the Albion forward to claw the ball away.

Even with a man disadvantage, AEK looked a threat. Pineda added his name to the list of home players to have a shot which made contact with the woodwork, his effort brushing the outside of the upright.

With Jack Hinshelwood having started at left back, another current Under 21s player was introduced for the closing stages.

Josh Duffus almost scored as well, getting into a really good position before shooting wide from a tight angle. No idea if he is any good, but the opportunity to shout “YOU DUFFUS” means he is already on the way to becoming a firm WAB favourite.

The AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton full time whistle brought with it a mixture of tear gas and reflection. The Greek police had apparently tried to disperse some less-than-impressed locals from the stadium bowl with tear gas, which then drifted into the away section to leave Albion fans choking and spluttering.

Some might say that getting tear gassed is all part of the European experience. Which fits in nicely with the reflection which greeted AEK 0-1 Brighton and the Seagulls’ safe progression to the knockout stages of the Europa League.

When the Albion made their debut in the competition against the same opponents back in September, they were like rabbits in the headlights. AEK won 3-2 that night thanks to a very obvious European experience, nous and knowhow Brighton simply did not have.

Fast forward only four Europa League games later and it was the Albion securing three points in backs to the wall manner befitting of seasoned European campaigners.

Brighton have learnt fast what it takes to compete in Europe and the subtle differences between continental and domestic competitions.

The result is further Europa League involvement in 2024. Keep those passports out – we’re still going on a European tour.