Aberdeen 2-2 FCSB: Polvara and Sokler inspire late comeback in Europe

In partnership with

FromTheSpot

·22 August 2025

Aberdeen 2-2 FCSB: Polvara and Sokler inspire late comeback in Europe

Aberdeen fought back from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw against Romanian champions FCSB at Pittodrie, keeping their UEFA Europa League hopes alive.

Daniel Bîrligea and Darius Olaru scored after defensive lapses from the Scottish Cup holders either side of half-time, despite FCSB being reduced to ten men when Juri Cisotti was dismissed. However, late contributions from substitutes Dante Polvara and Ester Sokler ensured the tie remains level ahead of next week’s second leg in Bucharest.

OneFootball Videos

While Aberdeen are already guaranteed a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, their comeback keeps alive the chance to reach the Europa League group stage for the first time in their history.

As it happened

Backed by a lively Pittodrie atmosphere, Aberdeen dominated possession in the early stages but failed to seriously test Ștefan Târnovanu in the FCSB goal. Ante Palaversa’s dangerous delivery narrowly evaded Kusini Yengi, while Adil Aouchiche saw a strike blocked after brilliant footwork from Nicolas Milanovic, as The Dons were on top.

Despite Aberdeen’s dominance, the visitors carried a threat on the counter and capitalised on hesitant defending from the hosts after 32 minutes. A mix-up between defenders Gavin Molloy and Jack Milne allowed Bîrligea to race through and finish confidently past Dimitar Mitov in the Aberdeen net.

Just before the break, Cisotti’s straight red card for a late challenge on Milanovic complicated the Romanians’ task. Aberdeen pressed for a leveller before half-time, but efforts from Palaversa and Topi Keskinen failed to really trouble the goalkeeper.

Manager Jimmy Thelin made a triple-change at the interval, but it was the FCSB substitutes who made the instant impact. Within a minute of the restart, substitute Olaru tapped home a second for the visitors. Yet again, defensive uncertainty cost Aberdeen after both Molloy and Mats Knoester left the ball for each other. This allowed Bîrligea to race into the box unopposed and square it for Olaru to score with his first touch of the ball.

Mitov quickly denied David Miculescu with an acrobatic save, preventing Aberdeen from falling three goals behind against the ten men. The hosts responded with further changes as Polvara and Graeme Shinnie entered the fray just before the hour mark, and the American midfielder made an instant impact. Collecting the ball inside the area, Polvara swivelled and unleashed a fierce left-footed effort that cannoned in off the post, halved the deficit and brought the Pittodrie crowd back to life.

With momentum firmly in their favour, Aberdeen pressed relentlessly and spurned several chances as they searched for an equaliser. Ester Sokler had Aberdeen’s clearest sighting of goal but snatched at a volley from within eight yards out, while Alexander Jensen’s cut-back for Keskinen was only prevented from reaching the net by an outstanding block from Mihai Popescu.

The Slovenian forward kept pushing and finally found his breakthrough in the 90th minute. Rising highest from Palaversa’s corner, Sokler thundered a header past Târnovanu to spark relief and celebration around Pittodrie. The comeback was almost complete in stoppage time when Polvara’s close-range header was saved brilliantly from point-blank range, meaning the sides will head to Bucharest level.

Aberdeen will reflect on key defensive mistakes and a lack of goal-scoring touch in the final third and wonder how they didn’t manage to win. Still, after a resilient comeback, they will go into the second leg next week in the Romanian capital with a strong belief that they can progress into the Europa League group stages.

For FCSB, there will definitely be a hint of disappointment having not been able to hold onto their two-goal lead, even if they did have 10 men for nearly an hour. However, the Romanians will believe that a draw is not a bad result given the red card, and that in front of their home fans next Thursday, they will be able to finish the job.