Olympiakos FC vs Aston Villa. UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-finals.
Karaiskakis StadiumAttendance33,000.
6-2
Report as Olympiakos beat Aston Villa 2-0 in Greece to claim a 6-2 aggregate victory; Ayoub El Kaabi followed up his first-leg hat-trick with goals in each half in second leg; Villa unable to reach first European final since 1982; Olympiakos will play in first European final
Friday 10 May 2024 09:53, UK
Aston Villa fell short of reaching their first European final in 42 years as Ayoub El Kaabi's double secured Olympiakos a 2-0 victory in their Conference League last-four second leg.
El Kaabi scored a hat-trick to help Olympiakos win the first leg 4-2 last week and he ended the tie with a remarkable five goals as the Greek side tied up a 6-2 aggregate victory.
Olympiakos will face Fiorentina - last season's runners-up - in the final in Athens on May 29, with manager Jose Luis Mendilibar coaching in his second successive European final after winning the Europa League with Sevilla last season.
Villa faced a daunting task in Piraeus as they tried to overturn the first-leg deficit and never truly looked like achieving it, with Unai Emery's side now winless in four games and seemingly running out of steam at just the wrong time amid a number of injuries.
Emery’s incredible record in European competition gave Villa hope despite their first-leg woes, with the manager having four Europa League titles to his name.
But Emery won't be adding a Conference League title to his collection, with Mendilibar orchestrating another highly impressive performance from his Olympiakos side.
The Greek club scored four in the first leg despite having only 35 per cent possession and repeated the tactic at home, surrendering 74 per cent of the ball but never being seriously troubled by Villa.
El Kaabi extended Olympiakos' lead in the tie after just 10 minutes, with the hosts exposing Villa's high line before Daniel Podence - on loan from Wolves - helped to set up the striker for a tap-in at the far post.
The goal only strengthened Olympiakos' resolve to sit back and protect their lead, with Konstantinos Tzolakis only required to make a handful of saves.
The goalkeeper's first stop of note required him to race from his line and block Moussa Diaby's effort, before he tipped Leon Bailey's deflected shot over the bar in first-half stoppage time.
Villa rarely threatened what would have been a miraculous comeback in the second half and El Kaabi ended the tie in the 78th minute when another long ball breached Villa's defence.
The striker fired an emphatic finish beyond the returning Emiliano Martinez and, after initially being flagged offside, the VAR awarded the goal.
Ollie Watkins came close to a consolation strike in added time but his looping header was tipped over Tzolakis, who secured a deserved clean sheet to help Olympiakos reach the first European final in their history.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery told TNT Sport: "Congratulations to our supporters. They were always supporting us and came here well. We got to be in Europe and this year we were enjoying it with them.
"But to win is very difficult. We arrived in the semi-final but we have to accept because they [Olympiakos] deserve to play the final.
"We lost in the first 90 minutes at home - we lost control of our emotions a little. Today, we started well, even if they scored a goal - we were, more or less, controlling the game.
"We weren't clinical and the time was fighting with us. We lost today but we are in a process. It's an experience for us after a long time [out of Europe].
"We are going to repeat in Europe next year and we have the challenge to end the season with Champions League. Today, we are a little bit disappointed, a little bit frustrated, but you have to move on quickly."
Aston Villa return to Premier League action at home to Liverpool on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm.
Villa then play their final league game of the season at Crystal Palace on Sunday May 19; kick-off 4pm.
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