AEK Athens 3 - Real Madrid 3

AEK Athens: Hiotis; Kapsis, Wright, Kostenoglu; Lakis, Kasouranis, Kasapis; Zagorakis (Centeno 83'), Tsartas (Ivic 83'), Petkov (Maladenis 16'); Nikolaidis. 3-3-3-1.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Salgado, Iván Helguera, Pavón, Roberto Carlos; Makelele, Cambiasso; Figo, Zidane (Portillo 83'), Raúl (Morientes 81'), Solari; Guti (McManaman 87'). 4-2-3-1.

Goals:
1-0. 06. Tsartas. Bent free kick over defensive wall into top corner of net.
1-1. 15. Zidane. Took Raúl pass and rounded Kostenoglu to score.
2-1. 25. Maladenis. Glancing near post header from Tsartas corner.
3-1. 28. Nikolaidis. Got on the end of Tsartas free kick to head past Casillas.
3-2. 40. Zidane. Volleyed into roof of net after Raúl headed on Figo corner.
3-3. 60. Guti. Got ahead of Hiotis to lift Roberto Carlos cross into net.

Another six goal thriller involving Real Madrid, but this time the honours were shared in their match at AEK Athens. The Spanish side were perhaps lulled into a false sense of security by events leading up to the match, with Athens president Harilaos Psomiadis given a twelve year jail sentence for fraud the day before the match, first choice keeper Atmatsidis and defenders Borbokis and Georgatos out injured, and the old stadium in apparent ruins. Madrid have never won in Greece though and Del Bosque decided not to take risks, and contrary to all reports he included Zidane and Figo in his starting line up, with only the rested Hierro missing from his first choice side.

It turned out to be a wise decision, as Zidane in particular was to prove instrumental in his side's recovery after dead-ball specialist Tsartas tore them apart in the first half hour of the game. The ex Sevilla midfielder opened the scoring with a free kick in the sixth minute, bending his shot over the wall at the second attempt leaving Casillas stranded. His first effort had actually hit the post, but the Russian referee Mr. Ivanov ruled that the kick had been taken before he had blown his whistle, and booked the player for the transgression.

Zidane equalised a few minutes later though, strolling through the defence after Guti and Raúl had combined to set him up. But Tsartas struck again twice in three minutes, first of all with a corner which Maladenis headed past Casillas on the near post, and then a free kick which a sleepy Madrid defence allowed through to the unmarked Nikolaidis for him to steer into the net. The absence of Hierro was taking it's toll, and his replacement Pavón clearly lacked match practise, although others were as much to blame as he was for the lapses.

Zidane pulled one back though just before half time after Raúl headed on Figo's corner, and Madrid were in the game again. The visitors kept up the pressure after the break, and eventually the on-form Guti made it all square, getting ahead of keeper Hiotis to volley a Roberto Carlos cross into the net. Either side could have scored in a nerve wracking last half hour, but in the end Madrid settled for a point which keeps them clear at the top of group C with seven points, followed by Roma with four, AEK with three and Genk with one.