Ruthless AEK Athens thrash Celje by four to put one foot in Conference League quarters

[p]With October’s league phase-opening meeting being the sole blot on that strong record, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aek/ANpZncAM/"]AEK[/a] wasted little time in plotting a route to revenge, and quickly ended [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celje/SpbURe4O/"]Celje[/a]’s hopes of registering only a fourth clean sheet in 16 European home games.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/varga-barnabas/Gh7PibQI/"]Barnabas Varga[/a] took just three minutes to open his European account with the Greeks, as he lurked at the back post and headed in at the end of an inswinging corner from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marin-razvan/WYOcFAQk/"]Razvan Marin[/a] [/b]- though there was some unintentional help, as the ball deflected off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/karnicnik-zan/SxvPlt4T/"]Zan Karnicnik[/a] en route to the net.[/p][p]Varga nearly made it a brace twice before the half-hour mark, as he hit the woodwork and saw a point-blank effort saved by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leban-zan-luk/4jsqRgc0/"]Zan-Luk Leban[/a].[/p][p][b]But AEK struck again on 33’, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jovic-luka/viIS0FT7/"]Luka Jovic[/a] executed a sharp outside-of-the-boot pass through the lines into [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/koita-aboubakary/AgRo5z33/"]Aboubakary Koita[/a]’s path - the Mauritanian did the rest, calmly finishing into the opposite corner.[/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="2d42b9bb-5fa0-48eb-8ab4-500ca93aeda0" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="a1054c7b-57e8-4748-bb21-b0a6af38a418" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b]He would be upstaged by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gacinovic-mijat/nBEIWHXE/"]Mijat Gacinovic[/a] just three minutes later, though, when he hit a sumptuous lofted volley into the top-left corner following [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hrka-darko/hGrdiV3B/"]Darko Hrka[/a]’s botched clearance.[/b][/p][p]Only the quick thinking of a committed Leban stopped Jovic from getting a goal of his own at the end of a counter in first-half stoppage time.[/p][p][b]But a fourth wasn’t long coming, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nieto-juanjo/8fIfx0gK/"]Juanjo Nieto[/a]’s foul on Jovic barely inches outside the box proved costly, with Marin hitting the bar from a direct effort and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moukoudi-harold/QwDQnZcD/"]Harold Moukoudi[/a] prodding in the rebound. [/b][/p][p]Nieto’s nightmare almost got worse instantly when Varga robbed him and saw his blocked effort fall to Jovic, who once again was left in disbelief as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bejger-lukasz/z90IYA4f/"]Lukasz Bejger[/a] prevented a fifth with Leban stranded.[/p][embed guid="a051b76e-a17f-48c3-8a4e-17bfd8d3a25a" url="https://x.com/AEK_FC_OFFICIAL/status/2032213073189118193" social-type="twitter" /][p]It was only after the hour mark that Celje looked remotely like contenders, but even with AEK - whose 12th unbeaten away game had long been assured - easing off, the slovenly Slovenians were reduced to pot shots and speculative efforts.[/p][p]An utterly ruinous evening for Celje sees their hopes of a second successive quarter-final appearance lying in tatters, while AEK are now surely just a formality away from a likely meeting with LaLiga outfit Rayo Vallecano in the next round.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/koita-aboubakary/AgRo5z33/"]Aboubakary Koita[/a] (AEK Athens)[/b][/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="460ce1ad-969b-4f14-8dd3-3eba19b871bf" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="b64b9be9-9f68-488f-9e03-414d35856609" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/aek-athens-ANpZncAM/celje-SpbURe4O/summary/stats/?mid=xt34VKFk"]Catch up on the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]