Olympiakos have ended Aston Villa’s journey in the Europa Conference League at the semi-final stage. The Greek team’s victory sets them up for a showdown with Fiorentina in the final.
Aston Villa, who had previously lost 4-2 at home, were defeated 2-0 in the second leg in Greece, culminating in a 6-2 aggregate loss. Ayoub El Kaabi, the star of the first leg with a hat-trick, continued his scoring streak by netting the opener in the 10th minute from Marin Ruiz’s assist.
Despite controlling the game, Unai Emery’s Villa lacked the decisive edge, and El Kaabi capitalized on a close offside decision to score his second goal, sealing the win for Olympiakos.
The defeat means that Aston Villa’s aspirations of reaching their first European final since their 1982 European Cup triumph have been dashed. Instead, Olympiakos will grace their first European final, to be held at AEK Athens’ stadium on May 29th.
This season marks a departure from the norm, with no English team in a European final for the first time in four years. Aston Villa’s shock defeat at Villa Park by Jose Luis Mendilibar’s team proved to be the critical blow.
Olympiakos’ journey to the final has defied expectations, especially considering their history of never progressing beyond the quarter-finals in UEFA competitions. Their path to the final was marked by dramatic comebacks, including overturning a 4-1 deficit against Maccabi Tel Aviv and edging past Fenerbahce in a penalty shootout.
Under the guidance of their fourth coach this season, Jose Luis Mendilibar, who took charge in February, Olympiakos has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Greek team to reach a European final since Panathinaikos in 1971.
Greek journalist Kostas Lianos expressed the monumental nature of this achievement on BBC Radio 5 Live, highlighting the improbability and the long-term efforts of the club under the ownership of Evangelos Marinakis since 2010.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, still has a chance to end their season on a high note. They are just three points away from securing a spot in next season’s Champions League with two Premier League games remaining. However, their quest for a major trophy since the 1996 League Cup, and a European title in over four decades, continues.
