Brighton 2-3 AEK Athens: Seagulls Narrowly Beaten On Europa League Debut Despite Joao Pedro Double

Brighton were narrowly beaten on their European debut, losing 3-2 to AEK Athens at the Amex Stadium, despite twice coming from behind.

It was a historic evening on the south coast as the Seagulls - who 26 years ago faced extinction as a club - made their first appearance in the Europa League, but the absence of injured captain Lewis Dunk proved telling.

There was little doubt in the quality of AEK's opener - a bullet header from Djibril Sidibe (11) - but additional goals from Mijat Gacinovic (40) and Ezequiel Ponce (84) exposed Brighton's defensive fragilities.

But AEK were hardly perfect at the back themselves, giving away two penalties after some sloppy defending. In almost identical incidents, Ehsan Haji Safi and Jens Jonsson fouled Joao Pedro, with the spot kicks given after a VAR review.

The Brighton forward took and scored both, but it was not enough to give his side their first points in Europe. It is arguably an opportunity missed in a tough Group B which includes Marseille and Ajax, who played out a 3-3 draw in the group's other match.

How Brighton were beaten on their European debut

In the midst of a cacophony of noise from a pumped-up Brighton crowd, the hosts began well. However, AEK Athens dealt the first blow with a superb header from Sidibe. He was picked out on the edge of the area, with a wonderful diving header nestling into the top corner.

But Brighton soon began to rack up the shots and deservedly levelled on the half an hour mark. It came after a VAR review, in which Pedro was caught around the ankles by Ehsan Hajsafi. The referee was initially adamant that there was no foul and even booked the Brighton forward for simulation.

However, VAR sent the referee to the monitor and soon after, Brighton were awarded a penalty, with Pedro's yellow card also rescinded. It was then a decent spot kick from the 21-year-old, sending the penalty down the left-hand side of the net to equalise.

AEK dealt another below before the break though. Brighton failed to deal with a left-wing free-kick, with Gacinovic poking a toe through in the melee of players to send the ball past Jason Steele.

Team news

• Brighton made seven changes from the weekend’s win at Man Utd. Captain Lewis Dunk was not included in the matchday squad, and neither was Evan Ferguson. 
• Only Jan Paul van Hecke, Pascal Gross Jason Steele and Kaoru Mitoma kept their places.
• There was a return to the XI for Solly March and Pervis Estupinan, who both missed Saturday's game, while Ansu Fati made his first Brighton start after his loan move from Barcelona.

The start to the second half was relatively quiet, although there was a lengthy injury break as Hajsafi was stretchered off after a collision with Jan Paul van Hecke.

And Brighton's second equaliser was scored in identical fashion to the first. Pedro was again fouled in the area, this time by Jens Jonsson, with the referee again waving away the claims. But VAR intervened, the referee was back over to the monitor and the penalty was given.

Player ratings

Brighton: Steele (5), Milner (6), van Hecke (6), Igor (5), Estupinan (6), March (7), Gilmour (7), Mitoma (6), Gross (7), Fati (7), Joao Pedro (7). 

Subs: Lamptey (6), Welbeck (6), Adingra (7), Buonanotte (6). 

AEK Athens: Stankovic (7), Sidibe (6), Mitoglou (6), Szymanski (6), Hajsafi (6), Jonsson (6), Pineda (6), Gacinovic (6), Amrabat (6), Araujo (6), Levi Garcia (6). 

Subs: Mohammadi (6), Zuber (6), Ponce (7), Eliasson (6), Mantalos (6).

Pedro dispatched once again and it gave Brighton a new lease of life in the game as they began to see huge chances fall their way. Both Pedro and Pascal Gross - captaining Brighton in the absence of Dunk - forced saves from Stankovic, but some more sloppy defending allowed AEK a third goal.

It was the usually reliable Kaoru Mitoma who initially gave the ball away, with Niclas Eliasson easily getting the better of Tariq Lamptey. He then squared the ball to an open Ponce, whose effort ricocheted off Steele and into the back of the net.

Brighton did push for their third equaliser of the evening as 13 minutes of added time were shown. Simon Adringa forced a brilliant save from Stankovic, before Gross also forced a stop from the goalkeeper. The rebound hit Danny Welbeck, but that also looped onto the top of the net.

Analysis: Dunk's absence key in Brighton defeat

Sky Sports' Charlotte Marsh:

"There were eyebrows raised when the teamsheet came out and Brighton captain Lewis Dunk was not in the matchday squad. Roberto De Zerbi confirmed pre-match that he was injured, along with striker Evan Ferguson.

"We already knew that his absence would be a huge blow, but it was a bit of surprise just how much Brighton missed him.

"While AEK's opener was a moment of quality, their other two came from a lack of defensive awareness from Brighton's back line. It was not helped by misplaced passes that the visitors capitalised on, but there's no doubting the presence of Dunk in the middle of defence would have helped massively.

"Not only with his own defensive qualities, but also his leadership and organisation of the team. That was lacking at times when AEK were on the attack.

"Jan Paul van Hecke did well in spells, but he too could have done better for AEK's third. It's hard to pick out any standout moment from Dunk's replacement Igor either.

"When Brighton had set-pieces, their clear plan was to find Van Hecke at the back post. However, this did not work and also allowed AEK an insight into what was to come. The Seagulls missed Dunk's aerial presence too in those situations in what were wasted moments.

"It was disappointing that Dunk had to miss out on such a monumental night for a club he has given so much to. But if anything, it proved just how vital the defender is to the Seagulls success, offering a timely reminder as Brighton embark on a historic European journey."

De Zerbi: Good performance, but we must do better from set-pieces

Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi:

"We conceded three goals. Two goals in set-pieces, one goal was an incredible goal, the first one. We made mistakes in the last part of the pitch [in attack] but in terms of quality of play, we played a very good game.

"I'm really proud of the performance. I think we showed not the right experience or not the same experience of other teams. But for the rest, I think we played with personality, with the right attitude, with the knowledge. We controlled the game, dominated, and we are sad for the result.

"We have to learn now. We can improve, but it's difficult to accept this defeat. I said congratulations to the players 10 minutes ago because I can't be happy when we win in Old Trafford and sad today if the performances are both good performances.

"When we defend set-pieces against these teams, we have to be more focused, more with the right attitude, more smart. Sometimes, we didn't do it. If we want to make another upgrade, we have to know before the game the situations where we can concede goals."

What's Next?

Brighton are back in Premier League action on Sunday at home to Bournemouth. Kick-off 2pm. Their next Europa League Group B fixture sees them travel to Marseille on Thursday October 5. Kick-off 5.45pm.

AEK Athens visit Panathinaikos on Monday September 25 in the Super League Greece. Kick-off 7pm (BST). They host Ajax in their next Europa League fixture on October 5. Kick-off 5.45pm.

(C) Sky Sports

https://www.skysports.com/football/brighton-vs-aek-athens/report/498978