sport news Olympiacos 2-0 Aston Villa (6-2 agg): Unai Emery's side crash out of Europa ... trends now
All week Aston Villa had been urging supporters to keep the faith with a catchy hashtag but in the end, they came face to face with cold reality.
There will be no chance to emulate the European Cup winning heroes of 1982, after Ayoub El Kaabi’s double took Olympiacos to the Final of the Europa Conference League. Not many teams can recover from a two-goal deficit away from home in Europe, no matter how much they might #Believe.
Olympiacos will face Fiorentina in this city later this month and Aston Villa must now turn their attention to securing a spot in next season’s Champions League. That would be richly deserved reward for an outstanding campaign, in which Unai Emery’s men have dealt superbly with injuries to key players.
The stadium was bouncing more than two hours before kick-off for what some locals described as the biggest match in Olympiacos’ history. Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also controls this club and was chewing the fat on the touchline in the hours before kick-off.
And the volume only grew as kick-off approached, with Villa treated to a venomous welcome as they came out for their warm-up. With eight first-teamers absent and Clement Lenglet the only outfield player on Villa’s bench above the age of 21, there was huge responsibility on Emery’s starting side.
Ayoub El Kaabi struck twice as Olympiacos beat Aston Villa 2-0 on the night and 6-2 on aggregate
The journeyman striker scored five goals across the two legs to give Olympiacos a shock win
Villa were devastated after the club pushed the #Believe message to supporters all week
With fit-again Emi Martinez in goal, Villa went in with a back three and were given an early scare when Diego Carlos’ uncertain header was seized by Chiquinho, who should have hit the target from a good position.
But after that, the visitors showed promising composure, keeping possession well amid the din and forcing two corners.
Yet when Olympiacos did win back the ball, they made it count. Daniel Podence’s initial cross was cut out by John McGinn but Podence played the loose ball to Quini, and El Kaabi turned home the low cross at the far post.
Villa tried to regroup. Carlos berated Ezri Konsa for playing the wrong pass but ahead of him, Douglas Luiz and John McGinn were dictating terms in midfield, pushing Olympiacos back, though Villa’s attacks foundered too often because they would not shoot from range.
Panagiotis Retsos
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