AEL completed a comfortable 4-0 victory over Krasava Odintsovo in a club friendly on Wednesday, 19 August. The match, played in Odintsovo, ended with the Cypriot side well ahead by the final whistle. Odintsovo's recent form has been difficult, and this result extended that run.
The first goal came in the 43rd minute when H. Catakovic found the net. To be fair, Odintsovo had looked reasonably organized until that point, but the break gave AEL space to work. Catakovic doubled his tally in the 62nd minute, and by then the match was slipping away from the hosts. They gave up the ball and hit them on the break, as the visitors moved through the phases with ease.
Two more goals followed after the break, with the 81st and 89th minutes seeing the scoreline stretch further. The unnamed scorers finished what had become a routine evening for AEL. Odintsovo switched off at the back, and the visitors made no mistake. It was not a difficult task for either side after the opening exchanges.
Odintsovo's last outing ended in a 7-2 defeat to Nea Salamina, and this performance carried similar concerns. AEL, meanwhile, had shown resilience in recent matches, drawing with Radomiai and losing narrowly to Olympiacos. The contrast between the two sides was evident throughout the 90 minutes.
The result leaves Odintsovo searching for answers before their next fixture. AEL moved on with confidence, four goals without reply being no surprise given the form of both teams. And here's the thing — friendlies rarely change much, but this one showed where each side stands right now.