AEK let three-goal lead slip

AEK Athens romped to a 3-0 lead in the first 24 minutes but ended up with a narrow 3-2 win over PFC Litex Lovech in the first leg of their UEFA Cup third-round tie.
 
Frantic opening
Four goals came in a frantic opening 28-minute spell as the hosts overwhelmed their Bulgarian visitors at the Nikos Goumas stadium. Vassilios Tsartas rattled the woodwork and then converted a ninth-minute penalty before Theodoros Zagorakis doubled the lead with a close-range shot seven minutes later. Sotirios Konstantinidis added a third for the rampant hosts after 21 minutes from a Milen Petkov corner.

Litex fight back
Litex struck back two minutes before the half hour through Zoran Yankovich as they sought to stem the tide. And after the break, the hosts became steadily more nervous while the Litex defence managed to contain the previously lethal AEK attack.

Nervous return for Greeks
Valeriu Rachita then ensured a nervous trip to Bulgaria for the Greek side as he struck in the 71st minute to narrow the deficit to just a single goal.

Santos shell-shocked
AEK coach Fernando Santos said afterwards: "For the first 30 minutes we played excellently. But I cannot explain why, when our opponent was already down, we gave them a lift. Mistakes like this do not get forgiven in European cups. This result does not make qualification a certainty. But I trust my players, and I hope we can find the answer in Bulgaria."

Spasov overjoyed"
Litex coach Ferario Spasov was overjoyed at his team's comeback, saying: "It was logical for us to assume that it was all over at 3-0. But my team managed to keep the ball and gain control of the game and we scored two goals. The second leg of the match will be very exciting."