AEK Athens returned to European soccer’s biggest club competition in emphatic fashion on Wednesday, crushing Levski Sofia 4-0 in Athens to secure a place in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase for the first time since the 2018/19 season.
With the play-off tie still finely balanced after a 0-0 first leg in Bulgaria, AEK took control almost immediately at ALLWYN Arena in Nea Filadelfeia. Luka Jović opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Barnabás Varga struck twice, in the 12th and 29th minutes, to send the Greek side into halftime with a commanding three-goal advantage. Răzvan Marin converted a penalty in the 55th minute to complete the 4-0 victory.
AEK puts the tie beyond Levski before halftime
The goalless first meeting in Sofia had left everything to be decided in Athens, but AEK needed little time to break through a Levski defense that had proved difficult to breach during the qualifying campaign.
Jović headed in a cross from Lazaros Rota for the opening goal, giving the hosts the breakthrough they had been unable to find in Bulgaria. Varga then transformed AEK’s advantage into complete control with two more goals before the half-hour mark.
Levski entered the return leg with hopes of reaching the Champions League proper, but the Bulgarian side found itself three goals down before it could establish a foothold in the match.
Marin’s penalty early in the second half removed any remaining doubt and allowed AEK to see out one of its most important European victories in recent years.
UEFA described the performance as a dominant second-leg display and noted that the result extended AEK’s strong European home record to nine victories in its last 11 UEFA matches in Athens, with one draw and one defeat.
Champions League return for AEK after eight-year absence
Qualification ends AEK’s lengthy wait to return to the main stage of the Champions League.
AEK had another opportunity to qualify in 2023/24 but was eliminated by Antwerp in the play-offs. This time, the Greek club negotiated the final hurdle convincingly, turning a scoreless opening leg against Levski into a four-goal aggregate victory.
The achievement also gives AEK a place among the 36 clubs that will contest the Champions League’s league phase, the format that replaced the traditional group stage.
Each club will play eight matches against eight different opponents, with four games at home and four away. The top eight teams in the overall standings will qualify directly for the round of 16, while teams finishing ninth through 24th will enter the knockout phase play-offs.
AEK awaits Champions League opponents
AEK will discover its eight league-phase opponents when UEFA holds the Champions League draw on Thursday, August 27.
The draw, scheduled for 18:00 CET, includes 29 automatic qualifiers and the seven teams that came through the play-off round. AEK joined the final 36-team field alongside fellow Wednesday qualifiers Fenerbahçe, Viking and Slovan Bratislava.
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