Winners at home against Aston Villa (2-0) this Thursday in the semi-final return of the Europa Conference League, the Greeks of Olympiakos confirmed their advantage taken in the first leg (2-4) in England to join the final. They will challenge the Italians Fiorentina in the final on May 29 on the pitch of AEK Athens.
Olympiakos supporters dreamed of it, their players did it. On May 29, the Piraeus club will play the final of the Europa Conference League in the country, on the lawn of rival AEK Athens. A nice symbol for Konstantinos Fortounis’ teammates, who gave Aston Villa no chance during the C4 semi-finals.
El-Kaabi extinguishes Emery and Aston Villa hopes
Clear winners in the first leg in England (2-4) being particularly realistic, the Greeks applied the same recipe this Thursday at home to dominate the 4th in the Premier League (2-0). Author of a hat-trick a week ago, the Moroccan Ayoub El-Kaabi did not take long to shine, taking a Quini cross from the right in the 10th minute (1-0, 10th). From then on, José Luis Mendilibar’s players retreated more and more, creating a low block that was very complicated for the English to get around. With 25% possession at the break, the attack-defense scenario was established. But Unai Emery’s men have never been able to cast too much doubt on their opponents, confirming their current poor form (one victory, one draw and three defeats in the last five matches, all competitions combined).
At the end of the game, on a perfect restart from goalkeeper Tzolakis over the English defense, El-Kaabi headed for goal to definitively extinguish any hope of revolt (2-0, 80th). With five goals in two games, there’s no need to look very far for the Greek qualification hero…
In Athens on May 29, Olympiakos will want to take advantage of the local advantage to extinguish the hopes of the Italians Fiorentina, who defeated Bruges on Wednesday. Unhappy finalists last season, beaten by West Ham (2-1), there is no doubt that the Greeks would sign with both hands for such a conclusion with, at stake, the first European title in the history of the Piraeus club.
