AEK passed Vikelidis and goes to the derby with Panathinaikos in New Philadelphia, which turned into the match of the year, in first place. The Union trampled the frames of Mars with a record performance from 2019, led by Amrabad who also had a record in addition to judging the derby.
AEK did their job against Aris by winning 2-1 at Kleanthis Vikelidis and now go to the derby with Panathinaikos at the OPAP Arena on Wednesday at the top of the standings.
The Union started a bit sluggish in the first half and paid for it towards the end, thanks to a goal scored by Laurent Moron towards the end of the first half, however in the second 45 minutes they stormed and produced one of their best games in that time for to get the three points, bending the excellent Lefteris Houtesiotis with the goals of Sidibe and Amrabat.
The leader of AEK is undoubtedly Nordin Amrabat, not only for the goal he scored and completed the upset but for his overall presence and the record he created. And all this in a particularly important and historic game for his career in the Union, as he completed 100 appearances with the yellow and black.
The five-year record of AEK and Amrabad that he created like no one else
AEK’s offensive line was roughly in the same line, as we can see in the Opta Stats/Perform chart. Ponce (14) was forced back a bit and was about the same height as Amrabat (5), while Zuber (10) and Eliasson (19) were slightly behind them on the same straight, the former on the axle and the second on the left wing.
The transfer network of AEK against Aris
This happened because AEK pressed hard in the second half to make the turnaround and score. The result of all this pressure is to finish the match having 58 actions in the area of Houtesiotis, a record performance since 2019, when Opta started covering the Super League.
Matias Almeida’s players took 38 of the 58 actions in the second 45 minutes, which is a record in this year’s league for that period of time.
From inside the “box” he had most of the 17 finals in the second half, but also the two goals scored by Sidibe and Amrabad.
Amrabad’s actions in play with Mars
The Moroccan midfielder stayed in the match for 87 minutes and finished the match with 72 actions with the ball. Yes, the 13 they took place in the area of Houtesiotis, being the player who did the most actions in the opponent’s area.
Only Levia Garcia (at the OPAP Arena with Kifisia) and Van Weert (with Panserraikos at the OPAP Arena) from AEK’s side had more in one match (a total of 14 both).
In addition to the goal Amrabad also contributed to the creation in addition to scoring, having 9 key passes. This performance is a record in this year’s Stoiximan Super League, as previously the record was held by Huanpi of Panaitolikos with eight. Along with the nine key passes, he also had three finals and thus was “in” 12 out of 28.
The 37-year-old finished the match with 19/29 passing accuracy and four possession recoveries, putting together his best performance of the season by far.
The Moroccan midfielder shows that time does not touch him and together with Eliasson, who is having a terrible year this year, he is always a reliable option for the wings and that is why, despite his age, it is not excluded that he will continue in AEK next year.
However, the four matches that AEK has to play in order to win the title are important, as he himself stated. And in these the Union will need similar performances from Amrabad.
