The Media Review: AEK Athens

The media enjoyed the spectacle of Albion’s Europa League debut and the entertainment provided by a see-saw five-goal thriller. 

But they were also suitably unsparing in their verdicts on some of the defending in the 3-2 home defeat at the hands of AEK Athens.

“Joao Pedro scored Brighton’s first European goals from VAR penalties, but it was the Albion defence who bore gifts to the visiting Greek champions,” wrote Neil McLeman of The Mirror.

“The Seagulls had waited 122 years to make a first appearance in European competition after a remarkable story of nearly going bust to their Premier League boom. And a bizarre latest chapter at a sold-out Amex Stadium saw AEK Athens twice take the lead from set pieces – and Estonian referee Kristo Tohver twice miss blatant fouls on Pedro before VAR intervened.

“Both times Pedro got up and scored from the spot on a hectic night in the rain. But as Brighton chased a late winner, Ezequiel Ponce scored an 84th-minute winner to spoil the home club's first European party.

“Brighton badly missed the aerial presence of injured England defender Lewis Dunk. But if all Brighton’s Group B fixtures are like this – they will also face Ajax and Marseille – it is going to be worth the wait for the European adventure of Roberto De Zerbi’s team.”

Sam Dean of The Daily Telegraph agreed. “The first European match in Brighton’s history was at least a memorable one, although it was also a reminder that the continental game poses all sorts of different questions and challenges for those who are uninitiated.

“The cruel way of describing this home defeat would be to say that Brighton were defensively naïve. A more kind assessment would be that Roberto De Zerbi’s side were unfortunate. Both statements are true, in their own way.

“Two of the three goals that Brighton conceded were effectively flukes, bounced into the net off unsuspecting shins, but then they might also have shipped two or three more if the visitors had been more clinical. The absence of centre-back Lewis Dunk, missing due to a minor injury, proved debilitating in the extreme.

“In the end, as Brighton’s supporters trudged out of the stadium and into the driving rain, it mattered little that Joao Pedro had struck another two goals — both from the penalty spot — for his new club.

“On another day, the £30 million signing would have been the story of the night. Brighton are England’s first debutants in major European football since Wigan Athletic, back in 2013, and there are lessons that can only be learned through experience in continental competition.”

Ditto Ed Aarons of The Guardian: “If all Brighton’s matches in Europe are this exciting then it should be some ride. A thrilling spectacle in which João Pedro equalised twice from the penalty spot after AEK Athens had taken the lead through Djibril Sidibé and then Mijat Gacinovic ended in frustration for Roberto De Zerbi as Ezequiel Ponce sealed a smash and grab victory for the Greek champions with a late goal.

“It was a harsh lesson for Brighton, who badly missed the leadership qualities of defensive linchpin Lewis Dunk as they failed to deal with AEK’s threat on the break all night. But given the journey they and their supporters have been on to get here over the last decade, De Zerbi will know that all is not lost.

“De Zerbi had stressed beforehand that Brighton could use this competition to continue their evolution and there was a real sense of anticipation in the air as the teams emerged to a cacophony of noise and waving blue and white flags. It was only 14 years ago that this club were still languishing in League One and playing their home matches at a local athletics stadium but, under the shrewd ownership of Tony Bloom combined with De Zerbi’s tactical nous, they feel like they belong at this level already despite this setback.

“Yet it certainly was not in the script when Sidibé’s bullet header from Ehsan Hajsafi’s corner after 11 minutes gave AEK the lead before Jason Steele had to stretch to deny Levi García immediately afterwards.”

Henry Winter of The Times wrote that “Brighton & Hove Albion had waited so long for this first experience of European football. They have been through so much, on and off the field, falling low and rising high, that it felt a triumph simply to be staging games such as this in their rocking stadium with the past European champions Ajax and Marseille to come.

“Brighton can take pride in how they have got here and now have to show they can stay here. This was a deserved defeat to canny continental campaigners, a reminder of the challenges in store and offered a lesson in combating counterattacking and well organised set pieces that Brighton will have to learn quickly.”

Matt Barlow of The Daily Mail had stayed overnight in the city and noticed that “the flight of the Seagulls into Europe commanded great fanfare. It was, quite rightly, a celebration in its own right. Confirmation of sorts of their recovery from the brink of extinction, not only to return to the top flight of English football but beyond.

“The city responded by lighting up Brighton Pavilion in blue for the occasion and decking the streets in club colours. Fans flocked to the Amex Stadium in high spirits. Then AEK Athens descended on the south coast and clipped their wings.

“It was the first time the 13-time Greek champions had beaten any English opposition since 1977. The game ended in a deluge to go with defeat. They have been through too much to be too despondent in these parts but the new chapter of their soaring script was not meant to start like this.”