The draw with Karabakh in the “Arena” was bittersweet for AEL. The defeat that brought the exclusion on Thursday night, was completely bitter for the team of Limassol, which with its appearances in the two games with the Azeris deserved something better.
Dusan Kerkez's players fully implemented their coach's plan. They closed the spaces, attacked and came close to the goal, but Karabakh's winning goal at 86 ′ was like a knife, since if the game went to extra time, then AEL would have more time to qualify.
Essentially, two phases of inactivity in defense were enough for Karabakh to score an equal number of goals.
The blue-yellows say goodbye to Europe with their heads held high and their pockets full. The four games in the Conference League for the second and third qualifying round of the third European tournament, put in the team's coffers the amount of 550,000 euros, which will clearly help the management to cope more easily with the obligations of the new season.
From September
The pace now… freezes for about a month. The mission of AEL returned yesterday, however we will have action again on September 11-12, as we remind you that the game of the first match against Omonia has been postponed and then follows a 15-day break. It is certainly not the best thing for Kerkez and his players to be inactive after four weeks of action, but the Bosnian coach will try to relieve his players, to work on their psychology, which to some extent will be affected by the exclusion. , and then all together start preparing for home obligations.
Waiting for Cepovic
As for the match, the eyes are clearly on Stefan Cepovic. The Serbian striker, who seems to have adapted to AEL and is finding his way to the net, left injured. He is expected to undergo medical examinations, in order to reveal the size of the problem and the period of his absence, if necessary.
