English
AEK Larnaca Hands Legia Warszawa a Harsh Defeat in Thrilling and Controversial Match
Larnaca, Cyprus – In a match filled with intensity and controversy, AEK Larnaca triumphed over Legia Warszawa at their home stadium, the AEK Arena – George Karapatakis, in a fixture corresponding to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. The encounter, played under the watchful eye of Romanian referee Horatiu Fesnic, was marked by a disallowed goal for Legia early on, five goals, five yellow cards for Legia and one for AEK Larnaca, and a sending-off for the Polish team.
Legia Warszawa started the match with a goal attempt by J. Nsame in the 2nd minute, which was disallowed by VAR due to an offside. AEK Larnaca opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a goal by P. Pons, assisted by J. Gnali. Legia’s response was swift, with J. Nsame redeeming his earlier miss with a goal in the 18th minute, assisted by B. Kapustka.
The second half proved to be even more dramatic. K. Angielski of AEK Larnaca scored in the 48th minute, again assisted by J. Gnali, restoring the home side’s lead. Later in the 78th minute, Y. Chacon extended AEK’s advantage with a goal assisted by Jimmy Suarez. An own goal by M. Rajovic in the 85th minute sealed Legia Warszawa’s fate.
The match culminated in an explosive finish. B. Kapustka of Legia Warszawa received two yellow cards in the 89th and 90th minutes, resulting in his sending off. J. Ziolkowski also received a yellow card in stoppage time. The match, although without many shots on goal or corners according to the statistics, left a bittersweet feeling for Legia Warszawa, who will need to rethink their strategy for the return leg.
Substitutions aek larnaca: at minute 27 V. Roberge came in and Miramon went out., at minute 63 K. Angielski came in and E. Cabrera went out., at minute 64 J. Gnali came in and Jimmy Suarez went out., at minute 90 D. Ivanovic came in and Y. Amyn went out.
Substitutions legia warszawa: at minute 54 P. Stojanovic came in and M. Alfarela went out., at minute 70 V. Bichakhchyan came in and R. Morishita went out., at minute 70 C. Goncalves came in and K. Chodyna went out., at minute 80 J. Nsame came in and M. Rajovic went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
AEK Larnaca
Titulares:
Legia Warszawa
Titulares:
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