Brighton 2-3 AEK Athens: Albion overawed by history making night

If we are to have five more games like this in the Europa League, then the Albion’s time in Europe will be brief but fantastically entertaining. Brighton 2-3 AEK Athens was glorious chaos, a game of football you could not take your eyes off which also served as a wakeup call to anyone thinking that Premier League form and performances are easily transferrable into continental competition.

The Albion being overawed by the occasion is not a problem in itself. This was a big night, the build up had reflected that and history-making events such as these rarely run smoothly.

Take the first competitive match at the Amex for example. Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named spoke to the high hill before Doncaster Rovers rocked up in Sussex about how Brighton had to play their normal game and not get swept away by the emotion surrounding the fixture.

Poyet You Know Who then proceeded to get swept up in the emotion surrounding the fixture, to the point he was sent off in the first half. That day would have ended in defeat were it not for Will Buckley coming off the bench and almost single-handedly rescuing a win.

Instead of the occasion, the major issue for the Albion against AEK was how poor they looked defensively. Controversial opinion here… Lewis Dunk has been nowhere near his best so far this season. But my goodness, take him out of the Brighton defence and you certainly notice the difference.

The Albion back four were naïve at best in Brighton 2-3 AEK Athens and reckless at worst. For all the praise showered on Roberto De Zerbi this past year, he got a number of things wrong, which started with not including Adam Webster in the XI.

Yes, Webster gave a disasterclass in the 3-1 defeat to West Ham. But the Albion were crying out for an experienced, calm head in defence.

The panic sewn by Jan Paul van Hecke and Igor Julio even spread to the normally unflappable Pervis Estupinan, who had arguably his worst game in an Albion shirt.

AEK took ruthless advantage, scoring from two set pieces before finding an 84th minute winner. Even with 13 minutes added time, the Albion could not find an equaliser.

In fact, they barely got the ball into the box after Athens scored their third. Turns out that stroking the ball around 40 yards from the opposition goal and waiting to draw the press does not work if the other team have a lead to defend, have subsequently stuck 11 men behind the ball and have no interest in pressing.

Why was Joao Pedro hauled two minutes before AEK netted the winner? He had been the Albion’s most dangerous attacker, with Kaoru Mitoma marked out the game and Ansu Fati struggling to make much impact.

Fati as a number 10 did not work, which is presumably why he has rarely played there for Barcelona. Chalk that down as another bad decision from De Zerbi.

In contrast, AEK manager Matias Almeyda got everything right. This included one of the greatest things ever seen at the Amex, when he calmly headed a ball flying into the West Lower back into the hands of his own player.

If I were Tony Bloom, that moment alone would be enough to convince me that Almeyda is the man to succeed De Zerbi when he inevitably moves onto Manchester City or one of the Italian giants in the not-too-distant future.

Disappointingly, nobody asked Almeyda about that header afterwards. Instead, he told the gathered press that he felt his side had been underestimated coming into the game through all the talk being about the Albion.

That was probably true. Most Seagulls supporters saw AEK as the weakest team in Group B and treated the Greek league with a sense of disdain.

Not so now. A home defeat in the fixture which was supposed to be a banker has made everyone realise that European football is not easy.

Enjoying a less good night than Almeyda was Estonian referee Kristo Tohver. He flashed 11 yellow cards, booked De Zerbi and Almeyda and had two major decisions overturned by VAR which led to Brighton scoring twice from spot kicks.

Almost as terrible as Mr Tohver’s officiating was the Albion’s marking from corners and free kicks. Djibril Sidibe was the first AEK player to take advantage, powering in a bullet header with 11 minutes played whilst there were plenty of empty seats across the Amex thanks to the carnage at Brighton Station.

Most of those stuck had arrived when the Albion equalised on the half hour mark. Ehsan Hajsafi tripped Pedro in the box and after Mr Tohver had booked the Brazilian forward for diving, VAR sent the referee to the screen to take a second look.

Mr Tohver subsequently awarded a retrospective penalty. Whilst he was busy wiping the egg from his face, Pedro converted to become the first ever Brighton player to score a goal in European competition.

The Albion were very much on top after that until more questionable set piece defending allowed AEK to retake the lead just before half time.

Orbelin Pineda delivered a free kick which Mijat Gacinovic stretched to get onto and divert past Jason Steele.

Brighton began the second half with some momentum, only to see it checked when Van Hecke and Ehsan Hajsafi clashed heads.

The AEK player needed lengthy treatment on the pitch before being stretchered off, whilst the travelling hoards of Greeks in the South Stand created the sort of atmosphere which European nights are made for.

They were momentarily silenced on 66 minutes when the Albion had their second penalty of the evening. Again, Mr Tohver missed a foul on Pedro before pointing to the spot after consulting the pitch side monitor. Pedro sent AEK goalkeeper Cican Stankovic the wrong way to make it 2-2.

Chances came for Brighton to find a third. Mitoma had a shot blocked and Pedro should have done better than drilling at the legs of Stankovic when played in one-on-one by Van Hecke.

With six minutes of normal time to play, it was the turn of the Albion support to be silenced. And in many cases, leave the Amex early.

The Seagulls were caught out by a long diagonal ball, Niclas Eliasson squared and the wonderfully named Ezequiel Ponce beat Steele to make it Brighton 2-3 AEK Athens.

There was a lot of huffing and puffing from the Albion in what remained of the 90 plus the substantial injury time caused by Hajsafi’s injury.

Brighton though never seriously threatened to find a third equaliser of the evening, the closest they came being when Stankovic tipped over a distance effort from substitute Simon Adingra.

It felt somewhat fitting that the final whistle blew amid a torrential downpour. The 48 hours leading up to the game had seen the entire football world reflect on the Albion’s journey, from the sale of the Goldstone Ground through Gillingham and Withdean and the Amex right through to Europa League football.

To finish in peak Withdean weather was apt. And for all the praise of how far the club have come even in the past 12 months under De Zerbi, the history of our great football club and its ability to delight and disappoint in equal measure meant Brighton were never going to enter European football in any other manner than total chaos.

Roll on Marseille.