Olympiacos FC achieved its biggest European win on Thursday evening by downing Premier League side Aston Villa 2-0 in the second leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final 2-0 (6-2 aggregate) at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium to advance to the final against Fiorentina, a closely anticipated match that will be played on May 29 in Athens.
Ayoub El Kaabi capped off an incredible season by scoring twice, in the 10th and 78th minute, to send Olympiacos fans around the world and a capacity crowd at Karaiskakis into a frenzy.
The qualification sends Olympiacos to a European competition final for the first time in its 99-year history. As fate would have it, the Piraeus side will play for the coveted Europa Conference League final “silver-ware” in the new stadium of an arch-rival club in the Nea Philadelphia district of northwest Athens in roughly three weeks.
Olympiacos had previously outlasted Fenerbahce (3-3 aggregate) in the quarter-final round by eliminating the Turkish club in a penalty shoot-out in Istanbul. Before that, in an astonishing reversal, Olympiacos thrashed Maccabi Tel-Aviv 6-1 away after losing to the Israeli side 4-1 at home (5-7 aggregate).
The qualification for the Europa Conference League final comes after the organization’s Under-19 team won the UEFA Youth League final against AC Milan last month, marking a golden year for Olympiacos Piraeus FC.
On its part, the Villans must regroup and try to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish in the celebrated Premier League. It was the Birmingham side’s first appearance in European play after a 13-year absence.
