AEK Athens played to a 0-0 draw away against Levski Sofia in the first leg of their Champions League playoff round. The Greek champions now hold their fate in their own hands ahead of the home return leg in Athens, with Hungarian forward Varga Barnabás featuring as a second-half substitute.
AEK Secures Draw in Sofia as Qualification Battle Looms
The first leg of the Champions League playoff round brought a tense scoreless stalemate. Visiting Greek champions AEK Athén traveled to face Levski Sofia, managing to walk away with a clean sheet that leaves qualification entirely open for the return fixture.
Hungarian national team striker Varga Barnabás began the contest on the bench before entering the match in the 57th minute. The forward wasted little time making an impact in the attacking third, registering a header that drifted wide of the target and later delivering a pass that set up a teammate for a shot over the crossbar. Meanwhile, fellow Hungarian Vitális Milán was omitted from the playoff squad entirely because he had already represented ETO in the earlier stages of the preliminary competition. A magyar válogatott csatár ott van az AEK Athén BL-playoffkeretében, Vitális Milán viszont nem léphet pályára a Levszki ellen.
Squad Competition and Domestic Pressure for the Hungarian Striker
Varga joined AEK from Ferencváros in January, quickly establishing himself within the squad by netting five goals and contributing two assists across 17 league appearances during the spring campaign. Under manager Marko Nikolics, the forward faces intense competition for playing time in a crowded attacking department. A magyar válogatott támadó ott van Marko Nikolics keretében, így pályára is léphet a bolgárok ellen.
The start of the current domestic slate brought immediate drama when Varga started alongside Luka Jovics in the Super Cup clash against OFI. That fixture ultimately came down to a penalty shootout that AEK lost 5–4, with the goalkeeper stopping Varga’s attempt from the spot. Despite the miss, journalist Dimitrisz Vergosz dismissed concerns over the player’s standing within the club.
Dimitrisz Vergosz, a journalist covering the Greek club, stated in an article for Nemzeti Sport that such a thing could happen to anyone, even Lionel Messi, so nobody held any grudge against Varga Barnabás. He added that over the past months Varga had shown he was a true goalscorer with a killer instinct who was particularly dangerous in the air, and he believed the player would score many goals this season as well.
Vergosz noted that Nikolics has three distinct options for central attacking roles, with Zini and Jovics also battling alongside the 31-year-old Hungarian. Ez a három csatár küzd két helyért, ami hosszú távon mindhármuk teljesítményére jó hatással lehet.
Decisive Return Leg Set for Athens
Statistical projections favor the Greek side heading into the final hurdle of the qualification path. Data models published on August 12 by Football Meets Data assigned a 65 percent probability to AEK advancing, compared to 35 percent for Levski Sofia. Az AEK számít a párharc esélyesének, és a Football Meets Data augusztus 12-i modellje 65 százalékos esélyt adott a görögök továbbjutására, míg a Levszki esélyét 35 százalékra becsülte.
The stakes for the upcoming fixture are significant. A successful result in the return leg scheduled for August 26, in Athens would propel the club back into the primary group stage of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since the 2018–2019 season, with the visszavágót augusztus 26-án rendezik Athénban.
