ATHENS: Olympiakos Piraeus striker Ayoub El Kaabi netted twice as the Greek side cruised into a Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina thanks to a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa on Thursday that gave them a 6-2 victory on aggregate.

Villa started well but El Kaabi, who got a hat-trick in the first leg, broke the deadlock in the 10th minute as Daniel Podence slid the ball down the line for fullback Quini who picked out the Moroccan at the far post for a simple finish.

The visitors dominated possession in the first half, with winger Leon Bailey coming closest to an equaliser with a blistering shot in first-half stoppage time that Konstantinos Tzolakis parried away for a corner.

The second half offered more of the same as Villa continued to dominate possession but struggled to create chances as the Olym­piakos defence crowded Unai Emery’s side out.

Villa’s inability to open up the defence was in stark contrast to El Kaabi, who only needed the slightest sniff of a chance against the English side to put the ball in the net.

He struck again in the 79th minute, ghosting in from the right onto a long ball from Tzolakis and slotting home his fifth goal of the two-legged tie, with the original decision to disallow the goal for offside overturned after a VAR review.

That took the wind out of Villa’s sails completely and though Ollie Watkins went close with a late looping header that was tipped over the bar for a corner, it did little to disturb the party atmosphere that had broken out in the stands.

Moments later the final whistle confirmed Olympiakos had reached a European final for the first time in their 99-year history, with the game against last year’s runners-up Fiorentina set for May 29 at the home of Greek rivals AEK Athens.

Olympiakos got past the quarter-finals of a UEFA competition for the first time this term and their appearance in a continental final is the first for a Greek club since Panathinaikos lost to Ajax Amsterdam in the 1971 European Cup.

Villa’s exit was a painful conclusion to their bid to reach a first European final since 1982.

Competing in Europe after a 13-year absence, Villa must recover from this blow to refocus on their attempt to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish in the Premier League.

Emery’s fourth-placed side are seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, who have three games left compared to Villa’s two.

“Olympiakos deserve to be in the final. We lost it in the first 90 minutes at home. We started well this time, but they scored and we were not clinical,” Emery said.

“These are great experiences for us but it’s difficult to win in these competitions, whether it is the Champions League or Conference League. We are a little bit frustrated but we have two games left to get the fourth position, which is amazing motivation.”

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2024