Olympiakos stunned Aston Villa 4-2 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final, putting themselves in a commanding position ahead of the return fixture in Athens.
Despite being in their first European semi-final in over four decades, Olympiakos showed no signs of nerves. Ayoub El Kaabi opened the scoring in the 17th minute, capitalizing on a VAR-assisted offside check. The Moroccan striker doubled his tally just before the half-hour mark, exploiting Villa’s defensive frailties.
Villa, who were favorites to lift the trophy, managed to pull one back through Ollie Watkins in stoppage time. However, their hopes of a comeback were short-lived as El Kaabi completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 55th minute. Santiago Hezze’s deflected strike further extended Olympiakos’ lead.
Villa’s misery was compounded by Douglas Luiz’s missed penalty in the 84th minute. The Brazilian’s effort hit the post, leaving Unai Emery’s side with a mountain to climb in the second leg.
In the other semi-final, Fiorentina secured a narrow 3-2 victory over 10-man Club Brugge. Riccardo Sottil’s early goal was canceled out by Hans Vanaken’s penalty, but Andrea Belotti restored Fiorentina’s lead before halftime.
Raphael Onyedika’s red card for two quickfire yellow cards gave Brugge an uphill battle. However, Igor Thiago equalized for the Belgians, only for M’Bala Nzola to snatch a late winner for Fiorentina.
