A three-goal blitz in the second half saw AEK take a commanding first leg lead over Levski Sofia in their Europa League second qualifying round tie.
After a goalless first-half which saw Sofia’s Milanov sent-off in stoppage time, the Larnaca side scored three goals in nine minutes – through Yiannou, Raul and Hevel – fully taking advantage of playing against ten men.
AEK travel to Bulgaria for the second leg next week.
Apollon lost in Ireland to Shamrock Rovers 2-1 in the first leg even although they started well leading from the sixth minute with a goal from Papoulis but Shamrock equalised in the 14th minute with Grace and scored the winning goal in the 58th minute through Lopez.
Apollon lost Sachetti a sending off in the 87th minute.The second leg will be taking place in Limassol next week.
Atromitos defeated Dunajska Streda 2-1 away on Thursday and is the favorite for a ticket to the third qualifying round of the Europa League, while Aris shared a goalless draw with AEL Limassol at home.
The second leg a week later will be tricky for Aris in Cyprus, while Atromitos will only have its defense to mind in Peristeri.
Atromitos took the lead on the 20th minute with a spectacular right-foot volley by Javier Umbides. The hosts responded with Mate Vida’s equalizer but Atromitos swiftly regained the lead with a Giorgos Manoussos goal two minutes before the interval.
In the second half Atromitos was unlucky not to extend its advantage a minute from the end when Farley hit the crossbar and Umbides got the rebound only to pound the ball wide.
At the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Thessaloniki AEL snatched a 0-0 result after frustrating Aris throughout the 90 minutes of the encounter.
Aris had no response to the defensive game of the Cypriot team that has not yet conceded any goals in its friendly or competitive games to date this season.
The Thessaloniki team, in its return to European competition after eight years, saw its call for a handball inside the area rejected in the first half as the ball had apparently crossed the touchline seconds earlier.
In the last 20 minutes both teams struck the woodwork but the game remained scoreless, to the disappointment of the capacity crowd at the stadium.
