English
Thrilling Draw in Brussels as Anderlecht and AEK Athens Battle to Stalemate
Brussels, August 21, 2025 – Lotto Park witnessed a vibrant and hard-fought encounter between Anderlecht and AEK Athens in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoff round. The match, refereed by France’s Jérôme Brisard, ended in a one-all draw, leaving the tie wide open for the return leg.
Anderlecht dominated possession with 55%, generating a total of 20 shots, 10 of which were on target. The home pressure materialized in the 21st minute with a goal by Kasper Dolberg, assisted by Thorgan Hazard, giving the Belgian team the lead.
AEK Athens, for their part, fought tooth and nail. Despite having only 45% possession, they managed to create opportunities, albeit less frequently. It wasn’t until the 75th minute that Niclas Eliasson equalized, giving the Greek team hope.
The match was characterized by intensity and constant interruptions. The referee showed a total of five yellow cards to Anderlecht and three to AEK Athens. However, the red card to Petros Mantalos in the 90th minute added drama to the end of the match.
With 20 shots taken by Anderlecht and only 10 by AEK Athens, the difference in effectiveness was notable. Anderlecht also dominated in shots on target, surpassing AEK Athens by 10 to 5.
The return leg promises to be a passionate duel where it will be decided who advances to the next phase of the competition.
Substitutions aek athens fc: at minute 46 M. Gacinovic came in and P. Mantalos went out., at minute 46 R. Ljubicic came in and O. Pineda went out., at minute 65 Zini came in and N. Eliasson went out., at minute 72 A. Koita came in and F. Pierrot went out., at minute 89 D. Kutesa came in and J. Penrice went out.
Substitutions anderlecht: at minute 78 N. De Cat came in and N. Saliba went out., at minute 78 C. S. Huerta Valera came in and A. Bertaccini went out., at minute 86 K. Dolberg came in and L. Vazquez went out., at minute 86 N. Angulo came in and E. Dao went out., at minute 90 T. Hazard came in and M. Stroeykens went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
Anderlecht
Titulares:
AEK Athens FC
Titulares:
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