UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 2018/19 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS OACA Spyros Louis - Athens Tuesday 2 October 2018 21.00CET (22.00 local time) AEK Athens FC Group E - Matchday 2 SL Benfica Last updated 01/10/2018 03:50CET

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1 AEK Athens FC - SL Benfica Tuesday 2 October 2018 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit OACA Spyros Louis, Athens

Match background

Having had their long European unbeaten run emphatically ended on matchday one, AEK Athens will look to make an immediate improvement as a Benfica side who are also seeking their first Group E points come to the Greek capital. • The Greek champions went down 3-0 at Ajax last time out, their first defeat in 15 European fixtures. Benfica fared little better at home to Bayern München, slipping to a 2-0 reverse, but may be buoyed by the knowledge they have already won in Greece this season. Previous meetings • Home sides held sway in the clubs' only past meetings, in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage. AEK won 1-0 in Athens on 1 October 2009 – almost nine years to the day before this encounter – before a 2-1 Benfica success in Lisbon. • That defeat at AEK proved Benfica's only blemish in the section as they went on to finish first with 15 points; AEK, in contrast, were bottom with four points. Benfica eventually lost to Liverpool in the quarter-finals. Form guide AEK • AEK are in the group stage for the fifth time – and the first since 2006/07. Then they were unbeaten at home, picking up seven points in Athens and beating LOSC Lille and eventual champions AC Milan 1-0. • All four of the Athens club's previous UEFA Champions League group campaigns have ended at that stage. • Greek champions for the 12th time in 2017/18 – their first championship success since 1994 – AEK entered this season's UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round, where they defeated Celtic 3-2 on aggregate (1-1 away, 2-1 home) to reach the play-offs. There they overcame Hungarian club Vidi 3-2 over two games (2-1 away, 1-1 home). • The home win against Celtic ended AEK's run of eight successive draws in European competition. • Last season AEK lost to CSKA Moskva in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and moved into the UEFA Europa League, where they were ultimately eliminated by Dynamo Kyiv in the round of 32 despite avoiding defeat in all ten of their matches in the competition (W2 D8). • This season's qualifying successes made it 14 European games unbeaten for AEK (W4 D10) before the loss at Ajax. • At home, AEK are unbeaten in seven European matches, since a 2-0 loss against CSKA in last season's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round; their record since is W2 D5. • AEK have won two of their home games against Portuguese visitors, losing only the first. Benfica • Portuguese Liga runners-up in 2017/18, Benfica are in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the 14th time – and the ninth season in a row. • The Lisbon giants have reached seven European Cup finals, winning the trophy in 1961 and 1962. • Benfica kicked off this season in the third qualifying round with a 2-1 aggregate win against Fenerbahçe (1-0 home, 1-1 away). The first leg ended a run of seven successive European defeats – the Eagles failing to score in six of those, including the last five. Greece's PAOK were then defeated 5-2 over two legs in the play-offs (1-1 home, 4-1 away). • The PAOK win was Benfica's second consecutive success in Greece, a 2014 victory against the same opponents having ended a run of three successive defeats in Greece, where the Lisbon club's record is now W4 L5. • The matchday one loss to Bayern means the Eagles have won only three of their last 15 continental fixtures (D3 L9). • Before this season, Benfica had lost four successive European away games, and were without a win in five. Despite the PAOK victory, they have won only two of their last ten fixtures outside Portugal (D2 L6). • Benfica finished bottom of their section in 2017/18, losing all six games – the 20th time a club has gone through a UEFA Champions League group stage without picking up a point. • The Eagles' next UEFA Champions League goal will be their 100th in the competition, group stage to final. • Benfica's eight successive UEFA Champions League defeats, and six consecutive games without scoring, are both Portuguese records. Links and trivia • Odisseas Vlachodimos was coached by current AEK boss Marinos Ouzounidis at Panathinaikos between 2016 and

2 AEK Athens FC - SL Benfica Tuesday 2 October 2018 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit OACA Spyros Louis, Athens

2018. • Have played in Greece: Odisseas Vlachodimos (Panathinaikos 2016–18) Ljubomir Fejsa (Olympiacos 2011–13) • Have played in Portugal: Hélder Lopes (Mirandela 2008/09, Oliveira Douro 2009/10, Espinho 2010/11, Tondela 2011/12, Beira-Mar 2012/13, Paços Ferreira 2013–16) André Simões (Padroense 2008–11, Santa Clara 2011–13, Moreirense 2013–15) Rodrigo Galo (Gil Vicente 2008–11 & 2011/12 loan, Braga 2011/12, Académica 2012/13 loan, Paços Ferreira 2014/15) Alef (Braga 2015/16) • Rodrigo Galo's only league goal of 2017/18 was scored past Odisseas Vlachodimos in AEK's 3-0 defeat of Panathinaikos on 1 April. • International team-mates: Uroš Ćosić & Andrija Živković (Serbia U21) • Have played together: Dmytro Chygrynskiy & Facundo Ferreyra (Shakhtar Donetsk 2014–15) Niklas Hult & Odisseas Vlachodimos (Panathinaikos 2016–17) Viktor Klonaridis & Odisseas Vlachodimos (Panathinaikos 2016 & 2017) Erik Móran & Gabriel (Leganés 2017) Alef & Rafa Silva (Braga 2016) Uroš Ćosić & Nicolás Castillo (Frosinone 2015) Latest news AEK Athens • Summer transfers In: Marko Livaja (Las Palmas), Christos Albanis (Apollon Smyrni)*, Stratos Svarnas (unattached), Ezequiel Ponce (Roma, loan), Lucas Boyé (Torino, loan), Marios Oikonomou (Bologna, loan), Serafim Giannikoglou (free transfer)*, Alef (Braga, loan), Giannis Gianniotas (Olympiacos) Out: Ognjen Vranješ (Anderlecht), Jakob Johansson (Rennes), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Olympiacos), Dimitris Melikiotis (Volos), Tasos Pantos (Sparta), Andreas Vlachomitros (Sparta, loan), Giannis Papadopoulos (AO Chania Kissamikos), Masoud Shojaei (Tractor Sazi), Adam Tzanetopoulos (Apollon Smyrni), Giannis Anestis (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Stavros Vasilantonopoulos (PAS Lamia, loan), Pedro Vitor (Aris) *Not in UEFA Champions League squad • The matchday one defeat at Ajax was AEK's first loss of the season in all competitions, having been unbeaten in their previous seven fixtures (W5 D2). Their previous reverse was a 2-0 defeat by PAOK in May's Greek Cup final. • AEK's 25-match unbeaten run (W20 D5) in the Greek Superleague was ended by a 2-0 loss at PAOK on 23 September – their previous defeat was a 1-0 home reverse against Atromitos on 23 October 2017. • AEK therefore lost two games in a row for the first time since going down home and away against CSKA Moskva in UEFA Champions League qualifying at the start of 2017/18. • The Athens club bounced back with a 3-0 win at OFI Crete on Saturday. • Hélder Lopes suffered a serious injury to his left knee in the weekend fixture. • Alef sustained a groin injury in training on 21 September and has not played since. • Lucas Boyé is yet to make his AEK debut having been sidelined by a hernia problem. Benfica • Summer transfers In: Gabriel (Leganés), Odisseas Vlachodimos (Panathinaikos), Tyronne Ebuehi (Den Haag)*, Nicolás Castillo (Pumas), Germán Conti (Colón), Facundo Ferreyra (Shakhtar), Cristián Lema (Belgrano), Alfa Semedo (Moreirense), Sébastien Corchia (Sevilla, loan), Out: Raúl Jiménez (Wolves, loan), Diogo Gonçalves (Nottingham Forest, loan), Eliseu (released), João Carvalho (Nottingham Forest), Martin Chrien (Santa Clara, loan), Paulo Lopes (retired) • Before losing to Bayern on matchday one, Benfica were on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W7 D4) stretching back to 28 April. • Franco Cervi (2023) and Jardel (2021) have both signed contract extensions.

3 AEK Athens FC - SL Benfica Tuesday 2 October 2018 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit OACA Spyros Louis, Athens

• Having been sidelined by a back problem, Jonas made his first appearance of the season in a 2-0 home win against Aves on 23 September. • João Félix sprained an ankle in that game, while Alex Grimaldo picked up a foot injury. The former missed Thursday's 2-2 draw at Chaves, though Grimaldo played 90 minutes. • Jardel will miss the AEK game after suffering a thigh injury against Chaves, while Gabriel has a foot problem. • Cristian Lema is yet to play for Benfica due to a knee injury, while Facundo Ferreyra, who has not featured since 25 August, is suffering with a back problem. Eduardo Salvio (leg) is also sidelined. • Sébastien Corchia has been out since 22 August after an operation on a knee injury. Filip Krovinović has been sidelined by a knee injury since January; he is expected to return later this month. • On 25 September 37-year-old defender Luisão ended his contract by mutual agreement and announced the end of his playing career after 15 seasons at Benfica.

4 AEK Athens FC - SL Benfica Tuesday 2 October 2018 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit OACA Spyros Louis, Athens Legend

ALL-TIME STATISTICS The all-time record of the competing clubs in UEFA club competition.

UEFA club competition: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in UEFA club competition defined as European Champion Clubs' Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup Winner's Cup UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup and European/South American Cup. Matches in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 1972 Super Cup are not included as they were not held under UEFA auspices, while the FIFA Club World Cup is excluded.

Match officials

UCL: Total matches officiated in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only. Matches where the official has acted as the fourth official are not included in these statistics. These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records.

UEFA: Total matches officiated in UEFA club competition including all qualifying round matches. Matches where the official has acted as the fourth official are not included in these statistics. These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records. Competitions

Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted

5 AEK Athens FC - SL Benfica Tuesday 2 October 2018 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit OACA Spyros Louis, Athens Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended UCLQ: Current season total UEFA Champions League appearances in the qualifying rounds and play-offs only UCL: Current season total UEFA Champions League appearances from group stage onwards prior to current matchday UCL: Total appearances in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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