Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Friday, December 19, 2025, 01:23 / Updated Friday, December 19, 2025 01:24
AEK Athens coach Marko Nikolic reacted after his team managed to turn the score around at the OPAP Arena and beat Universitatea Craiova 3-2, eliminating the Oltenians from the Conference League.
The goals scored in extra time excited the Serbian coach of AEK Atenta. He praised his students and talked about what it means for the Greeks to qualify for the European Spring. AEK Athens finished 3rd in the Conference League single group standings and will play in the round of 16 of the competition. The Greeks' possible opponents are Noah, Drita, Celje and Alkmaar.
Marko Nikolic reacted after AEK – Universitatea Craiova 3-2: “It was a fair victory”
“We've set some goals, that doesn't mean we're stopping here. We're moving forward.
It was a fair win, we were very good in the first 20 minutes. Right after that it felt like we were struggling, we pushed constantly, constantly, along with these amazing fans. It is a significant victory, a significant achievement after 23 years.
We are very happy and the whole AEK club deserves it. From the president to the fans who created an amazing atmosphere and helped us get the win. I am proud of my players. We had 18 players with 2 goalkeepers, 16 outfield players and six very important absences. We then got bogged down at Agrinio, one step back, but still the boys managed and found the strength to face it. I am very happy.
We had a plan, there was a bit of concern after the 20th minute and the players came off the bench and helped. They are not easy opponents, we will prepare whoever comes. They all have a past with us, but we will face whoever comes,” Marko Nikolic said, according to those from sportal.gr.
Ranking in the Conference League after the last stage of the group stage
