Olympiacos defeated Aston Villa 6-2 over the course of two legs on Thursday night, advancing Aston Villa to the Europa Conference League semifinals.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick to help Unai Emery’s team overcome a two-goal lead in the tie after they had lost the first leg 4–2 at home.
Within the first 11 minutes of the game, El Kaabi scored his 31st goal of the year, giving Villa fans a nightmare at the Karaiskakis Stadium.
The 30-year-old then increased his team’s lead by two goals in the 81st minute after being adjudged to be onside by VAR. Then, he sent a rocket inside the penalty area that went past Emiliano Martinez, the goalie for Villa, and into the net.
“We got to be in Europe at the conclusion of last season and this year we liked it, but to win is very difficult and we are in the process (of improving),” Emery stated in an interview with TNT Sports.
“Olympiakos deserves to be in the championship game. We were not competitive and we lost it in the opening ninety minutes at home. We had a strong start to the first half; they scored, but we had game control but lacked consistency.
“This is an experience for us at Aston Villa after a long time (of not being in Europe) and again we are going to compete in Europe next year. Of course we are a little bit disappointed, a little bit frustrated but we have to move on quick. We started the first leg and maybe we were favourites but after the first leg we weren’t.”
John McGinn, a midfielder for Villa, stated: “We entered this competition as favorites, and we managed that during the competition.” We have, in my opinion, had a significant learning curve.
“It’s not been a smooth journey, we got to the semi-final and were down to the bare bones a wee bit. However those of us that were out there across the two legs lost to the better team and the scoreline shows that.”
The last time Villa won a trophy in Europe was in the 1982 European Cup, when they defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, with forward Peter Withe scoring the lone goal.
They do, however, look set to embark on more European adventures next season as they are currently fourth in the Premier League and in a spot to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
In the English Premier League, Villa are now seven points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, who are in fifth position. On the other hand, Ange Postecoglou’s team has a match coming up.
Olympiacos, on the other hand, defeated Club Bruges 4-3 on aggregate thanks to a late penalty, setting up a Conference League final matchup with Italian team Fiorentina.
Where and when is the Europa Conference League final?
The Europa Conference League final for 2023–24 will be held on Wednesday, May 29, at the AEK Arena in Athens, Greece.
(Alex Caparros – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
