El Kaabi Hat-Trick Leads Olympiakos Past Aston Villa
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick as Olympiakos shocked Aston Villa with a 4-2 away victory in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final. This result puts Olympiakos in a strong position to become only the second Greek side to reach a European club competition final.
Olympiakos took a 2-0 lead within the first half-hour, but Villa managed to equalize through goals from Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby. However, the Greek side scored two more goals in the second half to secure a significant advantage going into the return leg next Thursday.
In the other semi-final, Fiorentina defeated Club Brugge 3-2, with Mbala Nzola scoring a stoppage-time winner for the Italians. Riccardo Sottil and Andrea Belotti also scored for Fiorentina, while Hans Vanaken and Thiago scored for Brugge.
El Kaabi’s first goal was initially disallowed for offside but was awarded after a VAR check. He then scored two more goals, including one from the penalty spot after Douglas Luiz handled the ball in the box. Santiago Hezze added a fourth for Olympiakos, while Douglas Luiz missed a penalty for Villa.
Olympiakos’ city rivals, Panathinaikos, are the only other Greek side to have reached a continental club final, losing to Ajax Amsterdam in the 1971 European Cup final.
Fiorentina will take a slight advantage into the second leg of their tie against Club Brugge, with Nzola’s late winner giving them the lead. The return leg will be held next Wednesday.
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