AEK Athens FC 4-0 Levski Sofia: Varga Double Sends AEK Through With Authority

AEK Athens FC advanced from their UEFA Champions League play-off with a commanding 4-0 win over Levski Sofia at the Allwyn Arena in Athens on 26 August 2026. For M. Nikolić, it was exactly the kind of European night every coach wants in a play-off: early goals, control of the emotional temperature, and no late drama.

The match was effectively decided inside half an hour. L. Jović scored in the 7th minute from L. Rota’s assist, B. Varga made it 2-0 in the 12th minute after F. Relvas supplied him, then Varga scored again in the 29th minute, this time assisted by L. Majer. R. Marin added the fourth from the penalty spot in the 55th minute, four minutes after being booked for roughing in the 51st minute.

Deal done, in football terms. AEK are through.

The Match Story

This was not a match Levski Sofia lost because they never had the ball. Julio Velázquez’s side actually finished with 52% possession and 482 passes, slightly more than AEK’s 437. But that number told the wrong story. Levski had the ball in areas AEK could live with. AEK had the match in the areas that mattered.

Nikolić set AEK up in a 4-4-2 with T. Strakosha in goal; L. Rota, H. Moukoudi, F. Relvas and S. Pilios across the back; L. Majer, R. Marin, K. Kairinen and A. Koita in midfield; B. Varga and L. Jović up front.

Velázquez went with a 4-3-3: S. Vutsov in goal; Aldair, K. Dimitrov, N. Serafimov and Álex Centelles in defence; Serginho, El Mehdi Moubarik and Maicon in midfield; A. Oko-Flex, Everton Bala and Reinaldo in attack.

The difference was clarity. AEK’s front two gave the home side a fixed reference point and immediate penalty-box presence. Jović opened the scoring in the 7th minute, assisted by Rota, and the psychological weight of the match shifted at once. Five minutes later, Varga scored in the 12th minute from Relvas’s assist. Levski were not just behind; they were chasing a match that had already found its rhythm without them.

Varga’s second goal in the 29th minute, assisted by Majer, killed the contest as a live argument. His numbers were ruthless: two shots on target, two goals, and a 9.0 rating. He did not need volume. He needed service, timing and space. AEK gave him all three.

Why AEK Won

AEK’s 4-4-2 did what old systems still do when coached properly: it simplified choices. The full-backs had lanes, the midfield four had cover, and Jović and Varga kept Levski’s centre-backs occupied.

Rota was central to that. He assisted the goal in the 7th minute and finished with four key passes, 53 total passes, four tackles, three interceptions and five duels won from five. That is a complete right-back performance, clean in possession and aggressive without losing shape.

Relvas also mattered. He assisted the goal in the 12th minute and completed 61 accurate passes from 65 total, while adding three interceptions. Beside H. Moukoudi, who captained the side, he gave AEK the platform to play forward early and defend the transitions that did arrive.

Majer offered the extra touch of craft. His assist for Varga’s goal in the 29th minute gave AEK the third, and his two key passes helped keep Levski’s midfield turning towards their own goal. Marin, meanwhile, lived a strange little sequence: booked in the 51st minute, then scoring a penalty in the 55th minute. It summed up his night: combative, occasionally risky, but decisive.

Levski’s problem was not effort. Serginho and El Mehdi Moubarik both produced two key passes. A. Oko-Flex carried threat, completing three successful dribbles from four attempts. Everton Bala had two shots, one on target, before being replaced in the 63rd minute. But Levski’s threat was scattered. Eight of their 11 shots came from outside the box. Only three came from inside it. That is the line between possession and pressure.

Match Stats

The key number is 12 shots inside the box for AEK, three for Levski. That was the match. AEK attacked the box, Levski circulated around it.

Key Incidents

• 7th minute: L. Jović scored for AEK Athens FC, assisted by L. Rota.
• 12th minute: B. Varga scored for AEK Athens FC, assisted by F. Relvas.
• 29th minute: B. Varga scored for AEK Athens FC, assisted by L. Majer.
• 51st minute: R. Marin was booked for roughing.
• 55th minute: R. Marin scored a penalty for AEK Athens FC.
• 63rd minute: Levski Sofia made three changes: G. Trdin on for Everton Bala, J. Perea on for Reinaldo, and D. Kusso on for Maicon.
• 72nd minute: P. Mantalos replaced A. Koita for AEK Athens FC.
• 74th minute: S. Pilios was booked for holding.
• 76th minute: M. Soula replaced A. Oko-Flex for Levski Sofia.
• 81st minute: Zini replaced B. Varga, and O. Zubkov replaced L. Majer for AEK Athens FC.
• 82nd minute: A. Mitkov replaced Serginho for Levski Sofia.
• 86th minute: M. Gaćinović replaced L. Jović, and K. Arriaga replaced R. Marin for AEK Athens FC.
• 89th minute: Zini was booked for roughing.

The Substitutions Told Their Own Story

Velázquez acted first, with a triple change in the 63rd minute. G. Trdin replaced Everton Bala, J. Perea replaced Reinaldo, and D. Kusso replaced Maicon. By then, Levski were 4-0 down and chasing damage control as much as a route back.

D. Kusso did bring some late activity, with two shots on target in 27 minutes, but Strakosha made three saves across the night and kept the clean sheet. For AEK, that mattered almost as much as the four goals. Play-off football can punish loose endings. Nikolić’s team did not allow one.

AEK managed the closing stages sensibly. P. Mantalos came on for Koita in the 72nd minute. Zini and O. Zubkov followed in the 81st minute for Varga and Majer. M. Gaćinović and K. Arriaga arrived in the 86th minute for Jović and Marin. The message was obvious: protect legs, protect structure, protect the result.

What It Means

For AEK, this was more than a big European night. It was proof that Nikolić has a team with a working attacking package already in place. Jović and Varga looked like a front two with purpose. Rota and Relvas gave delivery from deeper zones. Majer connected the lines. Marin added control and penalty-box authority.

For Levski, the scoreline is brutal because it leaves little room for consolation. Velázquez can point to possession, pass accuracy and some individual flashes, especially from Oko-Flex and Everton Bala, but European play-offs are decided by edge. AEK had it. Levski did not.

In Athens, there was no fine margin. There was only AEK’s early punch, Varga’s finishing, and a clean route onward in the Champions League.