The Cypriots are delighted with the victory over Dynamo. Few believed that AEK would be able to beat such a strong opponent and keep a good chance of qualifying from the group, even if it was third place and the Conference League. After the defeat from Rennes in the first round, the fans were in a gloomy mood, because many considered Dynamo to be one of the group's favorites. But the first two rounds changed a lot. Including the attitude towards the Ukrainian club. Now the Cypriots believe that AEK is stronger than Dynamo, and they believe that their team will finish higher than the Ukrainians in the 6 rounds of the Europa League group stage.
Photo: gettyimages.comStavrinou: After the match with Rennes, it seemed that we had missed our chance. In such a strong group, you cannot lose home matches. Each point can be key. In the depths of my soul, I hoped that we would be able to draw with Dynamo, but I could not imagine that we would win against such a strong opponent. It's incredible.
marios: The level of Dynamo's game symbolizes the situation that is happening in Ukrainian football. First, we beat Dnepr-1, which is the leader in the local championship. Now we won against Dynamo, which was one step away from getting into the Champions League. A year ago, no one would have believed this. Now this is already a reality. I understand that everyone wants to believe in the incredible level of our football, but it is important to remember that Ukrainian football has changed a lot for the worse. Due to this, we can now beat the Ukrainian giants.
Zsamboki: It would be funny if AEK reached the playoffs of the Europa League and met Shakhtar there. I think that we and this team could beat. When else will there be such a chance to improve the statistics in face-to-face confrontations with Ukrainian clubs?
Kaniklides: The goal turned out to be beautiful, and I want to forget the remaining 80 minutes as soon as possible. I understand that we played in such a way as not to concede and not miss a victory, but I didn’t like the game of both teams. I know that AEK can play much better, but now the most important thing is that we have scored 3 points and keep the chances of reaching the playoffs.
Parides: Interesting layouts in our group. Dynamo unexpectedly ended up in last place. Rennes and Fenerbahce each have 4 points, we have 3. There is no clear favorite. So far, there is only an outsider - Dynamo. But it is still difficult to say which place AEK will fight for. You need to understand that we are waiting for two difficult matches against Fenerbahce. And if we fail to win at least one of them, then we will not rise above the third place.
Nicholas: Great win, but this is just the beginning for AEK. Three points may not be enough even for third place. And if we dream of reaching the playoffs of the Europa League, and not the Conference League, then we need to tune in to win the matches against Fenerbahce. Many people underestimate us, but it plays in our favor. The Ukrainians were also sure that they would win without any problems, but now they don’t understand what happened.
Hadjitolis: I often hear the opinion that Ukrainian football has degraded due to the war. But I would not be in a hurry to make such loud statements. As far as I understand, Dynamo suffered the least from this whole situation, they practically retained the main squad, they still had the coaching staff. It would be foolish to say that this is some kind of Dynamo. It's just that the level of football in Cyprus is growing. Not only AEK, but also many other teams perform well in European competitions. Therefore, let's just rejoice, and let's not help the Ukrainians in their search for the reasons why they lost.
Efremi: Dynamo, Fenerbahce and even Rennes could well play in the Champions League. These are teams with big budgets, experienced players and big opportunities. Against their background, AEK looks very modest, but this does not mean that we should give up in advance. The victory over Dynamo showed that we are able to compete for the first two places in this group.
George: Most likely, Dynamo overestimated their strength. They thought AEK were some Cypriots they had never heard of before. We thought that they would take the field and score 3-4 goals for us, but something went wrong. When they conceded an early goal, they couldn't believe it. They thought it was an accident, but they could not change the course of the match.
Zacharia: Of course, a quick goal helped us a lot. I don’t know what game plan Dynamo had, but it’s obvious that it didn’t work out. I carefully watched the Dynamo coach and it seemed to me that he did not seem to understand what to do now. It's nice that we were able to take him by surprise. As much as Mircea Lucescu is an experienced coach, even he did not expect AEK to win this match.
Akis: Three victories in three matches with the Ukrainians is no longer an accident, but a pattern. Earlier, I explained to many of my friends that Dnepr-1 is a strong opponent and should not be underestimated just because we turned out to be stronger. I can say the same about Dynamo. In general, they are all right. This is the same team that played in the Champions League last year. So let's respect AEK. Beating two such strong opponents is a sign of the high class of our club.
Simonos: I will say this: if in the match with Rennes luck was on the side of the French, then today we were lucky. Not in the sense that Dynamo created many chances and had to win. No. It’s just worth recognizing that the Ukrainians are far from being in optimal shape now, so they managed to win.
Pantelit: I don't consider Dynamo a strong team. I saw reviews of the matches of this club this season. In my opinion, their whole "strategy" for the game is to sit on the defensive and wait for the opponent's mistake. And hope for luck. As soon as something doesn't go according to Lucescu's plan, Dynamo looks like a helpless team. We had to take advantage of this and win against Dynamo. Otherwise, it would be foolish to even hope for the third place in such a group.
Vardas: I think that everything is clear in this group. Rennes and Fenerbahce will take the first two places, AEK will finish in third position, and Dynamo will be last. Most likely, the Ukrainians will lose both matches to Rennes, so they will have hope for a draw in the match with Fenerbahce, and for victory in the match with us. Therefore, it is important for us to either win the second time against Dynamo, or win against Rennes or Fenerbahce. 6 points is enough for third place.
Papachristiforou: There is only one strong team in Ukraine and it is not Dynamo. We have already won twice against Dnipro-1, now we have won against Kiev. And none of them impressed me. Even in the Cypriot championship, we had more difficult matches at the start of the season than in European competitions with the Ukrainians. I think that at the moment only Shakhtar could play on equal terms with AEK.
Anton PROKOPOV
