AEK put their heart and soul into the game, came close to an epic comeback, similar to that of 1977, but ultimately failed, and despite their 3-1 victory, their European journey in this year's Conference League ended in the quarterfinals.
In the first half, AEK… suffocated Rayo with goals from Zini and Marin, getting back into contention for qualification. Relatively quickly in the second half, they equalized the first leg's score with the superb Zini scoring his second personal goal.
However, Palazon immediately pulled one back for Rayo, a goal to which AEK, despite their immense effort, could not find an answer.
The packed Nea Filadelfeia stadium was a "cauldron," pushing Nikolic's players throughout the match and acknowledging their effort and journey with warm applause at the end.
AEK… suffocated Rayo and got back into qualification contention with a 2-0 lead at halftime
It was a first half straight out of AEK fans' best dreams, with the yellow-blacks going into the locker rooms with a 2-goal lead, firmly back in the qualification race.
The truth, however, is that the yellow-blacks' hasty actions in the first ten minutes almost cost them dearly, with Rayo missing a huge chance in the 6th minute after a shaky save by Strakosha and an off-target close-range finish by Ratiu. In the 10th minute, after a mistake by Marin, Garcia's diagonal shot went wide. From that point on, however, AEK, fueled by the power of Nea Filadelfeia… swallowed the Spanish team.
In the 12th minute, AEK came close to taking the lead when, after a cross from Rota, an unmarked Varga headed the ball high and wide.
In the very next minute, however, Allwyn Arena erupted… in flames. Pilios took a strong throw-in, Zini won against Siss with a tackle inside the box and scored for 1-0 in the 13th minute.
AEK's lead completely changed the psychology of the game, with AEK starting to exert tremendous pressure and Rayo looking bewildered.
The yellow-blacks had pinned the Madrid side in their box, with Zini in the 30th minute dribbling past Lejeune, but Coutessa, who was supplied, couldn't beat Batalla from an angle inside the box.
The yellow-blacks were bombarding Rayo in every way possible. Varga in the 33rd minute produced a header that Batalla easily blocked, but everything indicated that the second goal would come to put AEK back in the qualification race.
And it came immediately. Koita, with a solo effort, dribbled past Ratiu, who then fouled him inside the box, and Eskas pointed to the spot.
Marin stepped up to take the penalty and calmly made it 2-0 in the 36th minute, with Nea Filadelfeia… boiling!
AEK earned several set pieces that they couldn't convert, while in the 45th minute, Marin threatened with a powerful long-range shot that forced Batalla to make a difficult save for a corner.
They gave their all, reached 3-0 with the superb Zini, but couldn't find an answer to Palazon's goal
At the start of the second half, Iñigo Pérez, who had already replaced Garcia with Espino in the first half, also brought on Alemao for Akomach.
Since AEK was leading 2-0, they needed one more goal to equalize the score of the first leg, and they didn't take long to find it, with Nea Filadelfeia on its feet!
The yellow-blacks, who maintained their pace, brought the tie level in the 51st minute with Zini scoring his second goal of the match.
Coutessa delivered the cross and the Angolan forward, inside the box, made a fantastic jump and headed it in for 3-0 amidst delirium at Allwyn Arena!
The thrilling images of '77, of the legendary comeback against QPR at the same stadium, began to be revived, with Zini in the 56th minute, after a corner from Marin, failing to find the target with a header.
However, Rayo, in their first threat after the tenth minute, managed to reduce the score to 3-1 precisely at the hour mark.
Diaz, who had come on as a substitute, found space, saw Palazon entering the box, and he, with a placed shot, sent the ball into Strakosha's net for 3-1. AEK now needed another goal to equalize the score of the first leg.
AEK didn't take long to threaten for a fourth goal, when in the 66th minute, after a high steal by Rota and a pullback, Zini got a foot on it, with the ball going just wide.
Rayo's goal didn't panic AEK, who again came close to a fourth goal, once again through Zini, in the 70th minute.
Varga crossed, and the Angolan striker, again with a header, sent the ball towards the goal, with Valentin making a crucial clearance for the Spaniards almost on the line!
Nikolic brought Eliasson onto the pitch for Coutessa to refresh his flanks, with Koita moving to the left wing and the Swede to the right. Shortly after, he substituted Zini, the best player of the match, bringing on Gacinovic in his place.
A long-range free-kick from Diaz in the 81st minute was cleared with some difficulty by Strakosha, with the crowd in Nea Filadelfeia pushing AEK for a fourth goal with loud cheers, as the yellow-blacks predictably showed fatigue from their immense effort.
Nikolic, now playing all out, also brought Pereira onto the pitch for Pilios, but AEK, despite fighting in every way until the end, could not find the fourth goal that would have sent the match into extra time, and saw their beautiful and successful European journey end in the quarterfinals.
At the end of stoppage time, after a mistake by Strakosha, De Frutos hit the post.
MVP: Zini. He scored 2 goals and did whatever he wanted with Rayo's defense.
On their level: Fantastic game from Pineda in the midfield, both in attacking build-up and defensive duties. Good match from Coutessa on the left wing, also assisting AEK's third goal.
Weak link: Rayo's defense had… nightmarish moments with Zini as they had no way to deal with him.
The blunder: Ratiu made it with the penalty on Koita in the first half, where he… was dribbled past and then fouled AEK's attacking midfielder.
The referee: The Norwegian Espen Eskas showed nothing for Lejeune pushing Varga inside the box in the first half, nor was he called by VAR, while he correctly awarded the penalty for Ratiu's foul on Koita. Overall, he had a good refereeing performance.
AEK made a thrilling effort, gave their all and came close to an epic comeback similar to that of 1977 against QPR in Nea Filadelfeia.
However, despite reaching 3-0 and equalizing the first leg's score, they could not find an answer to Palazon's goal later on, despite the chances they had, showing, as expected, fatigue in the last quarter.
AEK's journey in Europe ends in the quarterfinals, but it was a beautiful and successful run, with the team's fans acknowledging it by applauding AEK at the end.