AIK are flying since the summer break, and this one had a little extra story to it. Taha Ayari scored his first goal in almost three years to put AIK in front against GAIS, and Kevin Filling doubled the lead soon after, sending the home crowd at the Strawberry Arena home happy with a 2-0 win that made it three straight victories since the World Cup pause.
Nearly 27,000 turned up in Solna for AIK’s first home game since the end of May, and for long spells in the first half it didn’t look like they’d get much to cheer. GAIS were actually the better side for large chunks of the opening 45 minutes, with William Milovanovic firing straight at Kevin Nordfeldt and Frosti Thorkelsson also testing the AIK goalkeeper, while AIK struggled to create anything of real note going forward. Scoreless at the break, and if anything the away side had the better of it.
Everything changed early in the second half. Just four minutes after the restart, Filling produced a clever bit of work to find Ayari, who skipped past the last GAIS defender and slotted the ball home. It doesn’t sound like much on paper, but for Ayari it meant something bigger, his first Allsvenskan goal since the autumn of 2023, ending a drought that had gone on far longer than anyone at the club would have liked. “He’s playing the football of his life,” was how TV4’s Alexander Axén put it afterward, and it was hard to argue watching him celebrate.
Filling Doubles the Lead
AIK didn’t sit back and admire their goal for long. In the 58th minute, Filling turned provider into scorer, finishing off a move of his own making to make it 2-0. That was effectively that. GAIS pushed for a way back into the game but couldn’t find the cutting edge they’d shown before the break, and AIK’s defence, marshalled by Nordfeldt in goal, held firm to see out a third clean sheet in as many matches.
What makes the run even more impressive is who AIK were missing. Eskil Edh is out injured, and Aron Csongvai, one of last season’s more reliable performers, has since been sold on. Both sides made changes to their starting lineups too, with new arrivals Hervé Matthys for AIK and Nikola Vasic for GAIS starting on the bench rather than forcing their way straight into the XI.
For GAIS, there’ll be real frustration here. They matched, and arguably bettered, AIK for most of the first half, and a couple of sharper finishes might have sent them in front rather than level. Instead, two moments of quality after the break turned a tight, cagey game into a comfortable evening for the home side, and Holmberg’s men now have to regroup after a result that doesn’t reflect how competitive the match actually was for long stretches.
What’s Next
AIK will be delighted with how life looks since the restart, back-to-back away wins over IFK Göteborg and Mjällby AIF followed by this home win over GAIS, and there’s clearly momentum building in Solna. GAIS, for their part, head back to Gothenburg to regroup, still very much in the mix in a tightly packed Allsvenskan table where a couple of results either way can shift things quickly.
Match Facts
- Competition: Allsvenskan
- Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026
- Venue: Strawberry Arena (Nationalarenan), Solna, Sweden
- Attendance: Approximately 27,000
- Final Score: AIK 2-0 GAIS
- Goal Scorers: Ayari 54′, Filling 58′ (both AIK)
Conclusion
GAIS will feel they had enough of the game to take something from it, but AIK’s ruthlessness after the break made the difference, and Ayari’s goal in particular will have meant a lot more to the player and the club than the scoreline alone suggests. Three wins on the bounce since the break puts AIK firmly back in the conversation near the top of the table, and on this evidence, Solna is starting to feel like a good place to be an AIK fan again.
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Match data via SVT Sport’s live coverage.
