Aris put up a particularly competitive performance against a Bundesliga team, but ultimately lost to Union Berlin 3-2.
Facing the Germans, who fielded their starting lineup, Aris once again displayed the traits that now seem to define their style of play: high pressing and good ball movement. In fact, against a team that also played with high pressure, the “Light Brigade” moved the ball well, breaking out of their own half several times with combination play; they were quite effective offensively while also preventing the opponent from creating chances in open play. In fact, in the 15th minute, Aris opened the scoring with an excellent combination between Charalambous, El Alatsi, and Nikolić, with the latter sending the ball into the net.
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On the other hand, the Germans looked dangerous on set pieces, as they had a clear height advantage. From two corner kicks—one in the 31st minute and one in the 37th—they scored two goals and turned the game around.
In the second half, Aris continued to be competitive, and after Zandro made two saves in the 59th and 60th minutes, Verthon threatened in the 61st, and in the 63rd, Efagke, assisted by Charalambous, equalized 2–2 with a fine effort. In the 79th minute, the referee called a penalty for a holding foul in the box, and the Germans converted it for the final score of 3-2.
The low point of the match was Vana Alves’ shoulder injury in the 39th minute; the severity of his injury will become clear in the coming days.
After 90 minutes, the two teams played a third half, giving playing time to several young players. During this third 45-minute period, Zandro made a good save, and Aris had a good chance but failed to change the score.
Aris started the game with: Vana Alves (39’ Zandro), Yago (75’ Sané), Matisik (75’ Martynov), Lele, Coreia (75’ César), Sarfo, Charalambous (87’ Akaba), Nikolić (75’ Nikolić), Verton, El Alaci, and Efaghe (75’ Galiata).
In the third half, Aris fielded the following players: Zandro, A. Dimitriou (40’ Trimitis), Martinov, Bandeli, Cesar, Akaba, Galiata, H. Giannis, Sané, Kassianidis, and Pourikko.
