OFI Crete won the 2026 Greek Super Cup after dethroning the champion AEK Athens in a heart-stopping clash that ended 2:2 in regular time and 5:4 after penalties.
The dramatic duel at the “Pankriti“ stadium in Heraklion has become a central topic in our country, as the performance of the two giants provides extremely important answers for the upcoming Bulgarian context in the European tournaments.
The playoff to enter the main phase of the Champions League will pit the native Levski Sofia against the injured AEK Athens squad. At the same time, the Greek Cup winner OFI Crete awaits the winner of the clash between CSKA Sofia and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League tournament. That is why domestic analysts were closely following every tactical maneuver in the Greek super clash.
Chronology of the drama: Jovic, turnaround and goal in the 97th minute
The match started excellently for the "yellow-black" team, led by Marko Nikolic. In the 38th minute, Serbian striker Luka Jovic opened the scoring with a cool shot. In the second half, however, OFI Crete, supported by a tumultuous local audience, seriously increased the pace. In the 69th minute, Thanasis Androutsos restored the tie with a precise shot into the top corner of the goal.
The complete turnaround came in the 76th minute, when young prospect Konstantinos Kostoulas proved to be the most resourceful when crossing from a free kick and headed in to make it 1:2. The goal was subject to a detailed review by the VAR system for a possible offside, but was ultimately confirmed. The climax of regular time came in the 97th minute, when Zini was forgotten by the OFI defense at a corner kick and saved AEK from defeat with a header, sending the match directly to the penalty shootout.
The penalty shootout and the tactical trap
Before the penalty shootout, the AEK coach made an unexpected goalkeeping change, bringing in the experienced Tomas Strakosha specifically for the penalty kicks. However, this move did not work. OFI Crete's players showed a 100% success rate from the penalty spot, and the tragic hero for AEK turned out to be the Hungarian international Barnabas Varga, whose shot was saved by goalkeeper Nikos Christogeorgos, sealing the historic triumph of the Cretans.
The loss of AEK Athens shows serious hesitations in defensive terms – something that Levski Sofia can take advantage of in the upcoming Champions League qualifiers. On the other hand, OFI Crete demonstrated high spirit and tactical discipline, which is a clear signal to CSKA Sofia that their potential opponent in the Europa League has an extremely dangerous tournament character.