UECL: Fiorentina Falls to AEK Athens in Conference League

AEK Athens leapfrogs Fiorentina in league-phase table

Fiorentina suffers 1-0 loss to AEK Athens in UEFA Conference League, extending poor form.

Fiorentina's fortunes seemed to turn momentarily, with Dzeko hitting the woodwork and Mandragora firing over...

Fiorentina's struggles continue, and they suffered a 1-0 loss to AEK Athens in the Conference League. Paolo Vanoli's European debut as head coach didn't go as planned, and Fiorentina dropped down the table.

Vanoli made seven changes to the team that lost to Mainz, but it didn't pay off. Fiorentina had a chance early on, with Dzeko just missing Ranieri's through-ball. But AEK Athens capitalized on their chances, and Fiorentina's terrible form continues.

It was Fiorentina who had the ball in the net first, only for Albert Gudmundsson’s joy to be short-lived as VAR determined that Ranieri was offside from Cher Ndour’s header following a corner. AEK duly took advantage of that reprieve, taking a 35th-minute lead. 

Ndour’s overly powerful pass ricocheted off Dzeko and straight to Stavros Pilios, who combined with Orbelin Pineda down the left and then drifted into the Fiorentina box to divert the Mexican’s cross into the path of Mijat Gacinovic, who finished sharply.

Luka Jovic, playing against his old club, came close to doubling AEK's advantage as he guided a teasing ball from Pilios over the bar on the stretch, prompting frustrated boos from the Fiorentina fans, who were unhappy with their team's poor performance.

Fiorentina continued to struggle to create chances after half-time, with Ranieri flagged offside for the second time in the match after the ball had nestled in the back of the net, a frustrating night for the Italian side, who have twice been finalists in this competition.

Vanoli made a double change just after the hour mark, bringing on Moise Kean in an attempt to spark a Fiorentina revival. However, the changes didn't seem to make a difference, and AEK could have gone 2-0 up on 73 minutes when Zini's drive hit the post, a fortunate moment for the home side.

 

Full time. pic.twitter.com/egWhUemKgB

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) November 27, 2025

Fiorentina's fortunes seemed to turn momentarily, with Dzeko hitting the woodwork and Mandragora firing over, but it was too little, too late, as the Italian side continued to struggle to create clear-cut chances, and AEK Athens held on for the win.

Meanwhile, Jovic had a chance to make it a fairytale return to Stadio Artemio Franchi, but De Gea made a great save to tip his lob over the bar. In the end, AEK held on for the win, extending their unbeaten run to six games and moving up the table.