Milan v AEK Athens background
AC Milan have cut utterly a lurch in their opening UEFA Europa League Group D games, and will demeanour to make it 3 high-scoring wins from 3 as AEK Athens lapse to San Siro.
Previous meetings
• These teams met in a 1994/95 and 2006/07 UEFA Champions League organisation stages; Milan won both of their home games (2-1 and 3-0) yet unsuccessful to measure in dual trips to Athens (0-0 and 0-1).
• Milan’s record in 8 matches opposite Greek sides is W4 D3 L1 – that solitary better being a 1-0 during AEK in Nov 2006, motionless by a Júlio César goal.
• AEK’s record in 17 encounters with Serie A clubs is W2 D6 L9, yet 4 of a 6 many new fixtures finished in draws.
Form guide
• Milan have won all 6 of their European games this season.
• AEK are dominant in their final 4 matches in Europe (W2 D2).
• Sixth in Italy final term, Milan are creation their initial coming in a UEFA Europa League organisation theatre given reaching a turn of 32 in a last-ever UEFA Cup debate of 2008/09.
• Winners of Greece’s end-of-season UEFA Champions League play-offs, AEK have had 5 prior UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League organisation theatre campaigns, many recently 2011/12. They have usually once got to a turn of 32, in 2007/08.
Trivia and links
• The tour from Athens to Milan is around 1,500km.
• Milan, Nice and Zenit are a organisation stage’s heading scorers with 8 goals each – an normal of 4 a game. Milan’s André Silva, Nice’s Alassane Pléa and Zenit’s Aleksandr Kokorin share tip mark in a particular draft with 4 apiece.
• Milan goalkeeper Antonio Donnarumma played in Greece final deteriorate with Asteras Tripolis.
• Several AEK players have played for Italian clubs:
Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Bologna 2013–14, Verona 2014–15, Sampdoria 2015–16)
Uroš Ćosić (Pescara 2012–15, Empoli 2015–17)
Panagiotis Kone (Brescia 2010–11, Bologna 2011–14, Udinese 2014–15, Fiorentina 2016)
Marko Livaja (Inter 2011–13, Cesena 2011–12, Atalanta 2013–14, Empoli 2015–16)
• Livaja and Milan’s Giacomo Bonaventura were team-mates during Atalanta.
• Kone and Milan’s Nikola Kalinić played together during Fiorentina.
• This is a usually vital UEFA foe a Rossoneri have not won. Only Ajax, Bayern München, Chelsea, Juventus and – as of final May – Manchester United have won a European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League and European Cup Winners’ Cup.
The coaches
• In assign given Jun 2016, Vincenzo Montella has led Milan behind into Europe for a initial time given 2013/14. A Serie A leader as a striker with Roma in 2000/01, he has given coached Fiorentina and Sampdoria.
• Manolo Jiménez returned for a second spell as AEK manager in Jan 2017, carrying guided a bar to 2010/11 Greek Cup excellence during his initial stint. The former Sevilla left-back has also coached Sevilla, Real Zaragoza and al-Rayyan.