AEK Athens dealt a heavy blow ahead of Real Madrid clash in the Champions League

The match is on Wednesday

AEK Athens slipped to a surprise 2-0 defeat against rivals Panathinaikos in Sunday's derby, conceding their first loss of the season in the Greek league ahead of a daunting European test against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening in the fourth round of the Champions League.

The timing could hardly have been worse. AEK had gone into the clash buoyant after three straight league wins, but their positive run came to an abrupt halt. The defeat leaves their points tally frozen and stretches the gap to Panathinaikos out to seven points.

From the first whistle, the hosts gave AEK no room to breathe. Andreas Tetey opened the scoring inside the opening minute, piling early pressure on the visitors. Santino Andino then doubled the lead at the start of the second half, making the comeback even harder.

AEK pushed to claw their way back into the contest. They carved out chances that might have changed the course of the match, yet failed to convert any of them, even after playing the final twenty minutes with a man advantage. The result was a painful defeat to their old enemy.

Now AEK face a major challenge to steady themselves fast. There's little time to fix their mistakes before they host Real Madrid, a game that demands sharper focus and discipline. The Spanish side arrive hungry to extend their winning run, and that only makes the task harder after the derby fall.