Match ends, Olympiakos 2, Aston Villa 0.
Aston Villa's Europa Conference League run ended at the semi-final stage as opponents Olympiakos set up a final with Fiorentina.
Having lost the first leg 4-2, Villa fell to a 2-0 defeat in Greece to lose their tie 6-2 on aggregate.
Ayoub El Kaabi - who scored a hat-trick in the first leg - opened the scoring in Piraeus, tapping in Marin Ruiz's low cross in the 10th minute against the run of play.
Unai Emery's side dominated possession but lacked composure in the final third.
And El Kaabi benefitted from a tight offside call to double his tally with eight minutes remaining by latching on to a long pass forward and burying a shot beyond Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Villa were hoping to reach their first European final since Tony Barton's team won the European Cup in 1982.
Instead, Olympiakos will play in their first European final at the home of rivals AEK Athens on 29 May.
And there will be no English club in a European final for the first time in four seasons.
- Relive coverage of Aston Villa's second leg with Olympiakos
- How did you rate Aston Villa's performance? Have your say here
Villa's 28-year trophy wait goes on
The damage had already been done seven days earlier at Villa Park when competition favourites Villa were stunned by Jose Luis Mendilibar's side.
In Athens, the Premier League outfit started on the front foot but were caught out on the counter-attack as Olympiakos went into a three-goal lead in the tie with their first attack of the night.
Villa controlled things for the rest of the half but rarely threatened until just before the break when Greek keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis tipped over Leon Bailey's effort from range.
Jhon Duran also had a shot saved after the restart and Ollie Watkins had a header kept out in the final stages on a disappointing night for the Villains.
Villa could still end their season on a positive note. They need just three points from their final two Premier League games to ensure qualification for next season's Champions League.
But the club's wait for a first major trophy since the 1996 League Cup, and a first European title in 42 years, continues.
Olympiakos defy odds in European run
Despite winning a record 47 Greek league titles, before this season Olympiakos had never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of a Uefa competition.
The Athens side are on a remarkable run, having been 4-1 down to Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv in the last 16 before advancing after extra time and needing a penalty shootout to beat Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the last eight.
Spaniard Mendilibar is their fourth head coach of the season and has only been in the post since February.
They became the first Greek side to reach a European final since Panathinaikos, who were beaten by Ajax in the 1971 European Cup final at Wembley.
'The idea of seeing a Greek club in the final is unthinkable'
Analysis from Greek journalist Kostas Lianos on BBC Radio 5 Live
This is history. This is destiny. I'm a Greek football fan, I don't get to watch moments like this very often. I have Euro 2004 and now I have this one.
The idea of seeing a Greek club in the final of a major European competition is unthinkable, if anyone said that in the middle of the season they'd think you're insane.
Olympiakos signed 16 players in the summer, four of them have been dropped, two of them have been sent out on loan. They then bought eight more in January, and only three of them are in the European squad list.
Now they are going to a final. To many people they are the favourites now.
Olympiakos have been trying to do this since 2010 when owner Evangelos Marinakis took over.
This has been in the works for many, many years.
Player of the match
El KaabiAyoub El Kaabi
Olympiakos
Avg
- Squad number9Player nameEl KaabiAverage rating
7.97
- Squad number56Player nameDaniel PodenceAverage rating
7.76
- Squad number7Player nameFortounisAverage rating
7.23
- Squad number65Player nameApostolopoulosAverage rating
7.21
- Squad number5Player nameAndré HortaAverage rating
7.16
- Squad number19Player nameMasourasAverage rating
7.12
- Squad number45Player nameRetsosAverage rating
6.95
- Squad number8Player nameIborraAverage rating
6.92
- Squad number16Player nameDavid CarmoAverage rating
6.91
- Squad number23Player nameRodineiAverage rating
6.83
- Squad number18Player nameQuiniAverage rating
6.80
- Squad number6Player nameChiquinhoAverage rating
6.79
- Squad number88Player nameTzolakisAverage rating
6.75
- Squad number32Player nameHezzeAverage rating
6.62
Aston Villa
Avg
- Squad number2Player nameCashAverage rating
3.93
- Squad number1Player nameE MartínezAverage rating
3.89
- Squad number7Player nameMcGinnAverage rating
3.81
- Squad number11Player nameWatkinsAverage rating
3.80
- Squad number3Player nameDiego CarlosAverage rating
3.63
- Squad number14Player nameP TorresAverage rating
3.61
- Squad number31Player nameBaileyAverage rating
3.60
- Squad number4Player nameKonsaAverage rating
3.50
- Squad number12Player nameDigneAverage rating
3.34
- Squad number6Player nameDouglas LuizAverage rating
3.33
- Squad number19Player nameDiabyAverage rating
3.31
- Squad number47Player nameIroegbunamAverage rating
2.98
- Squad number69Player nameMunroeAverage rating
2.97
- Squad number24Player nameDuránAverage rating
2.97
- Squad number71Player nameKellymanAverage rating
2.88
- Squad number29Player nameKesler-HaydenAverage rating
2.81
Line-ups
Olympiakos
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 88Tzolakis
- 23de AlmeidaBooked at 30mins
- 45Retsos
- 16Mota Veiga Teixeira do Carmo
- 18Marín RuizBooked at 67minsSubstituted forApostolopoulosat 77'minutes
- 8Iborra de la FuenteSubstituted forLuz Hortaat 73'minutes
- 32Hezze
- 7Fortounis
- 6Lima Silva Machado
- 56PodenceBooked at 53minsSubstituted forMasourasat 64'minutes
- 9El Kaabi
Substitutes
- 1Paschalakis
- 5Luz Horta
- 11El Arabi
- 15Alexandropoulos
- 19Masouras
- 20Carvalho
- 22Jovetic
- 65Apostolopoulos
- 70Prekates
- 74Ntoi
- 99Papadoudis
Aston Villa
Formation 5-4-1
- 1E Martínez
- 2CashSubstituted forKesler-Haydenat 86'minutes
- 4Konsa
- 3Diego CarlosSubstituted forIroegbunamat 65'minutesBooked at 73mins
- 14P Torres
- 12DigneSubstituted forMunroeat 86'minutes
- 31BaileySubstituted forKellymanat 86'minutes
- 7McGinn
- 6Douglas LuizBooked at 45mins
- 19DiabySubstituted forDuránat 58'minutesBooked at 89mins
- 11Watkins
Substitutes
- 17Lenglet
- 18Gauci
- 24Durán
- 25Olsen
- 29Kesler-Hayden
- 47Iroegbunam
- 66Patterson
- 69Munroe
- 71Kellyman
- 72Young
- Referee:
- Felix Zwayer
- Attendance:
- 33,000
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home26%
- Away74%
- Shots
- Home9
- Away15
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away4
- Corners
- Home0
- Away9
- Fouls
- Home10
- Away7
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Olympiakos 2, Aston Villa 0.
Post update
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Post update
Attempt saved. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) header from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Pau Torres.
Post update
Kaine Kesler-Hayden (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Apostolis Apostolopoulos (Olympiakos).
Post update
Foul by Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa).
Post update
André Horta (Olympiakos) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt missed. Giorgos Masouras (Olympiakos) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right.
Post update
Foul by Finley Munroe (Aston Villa).
Post update
Konstantinos Fortounis (Olympiakos) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Booking
Jhon Durán (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Giorgos Masouras.
Substitution
Substitution, Aston Villa. Omari Kellyman replaces Leon Bailey.
Substitution
Substitution, Aston Villa. Kaine Kesler-Hayden replaces Matty Cash.
Substitution
Substitution, Aston Villa. Finley Munroe replaces Lucas Digne.
Post update
VAR Decision: Goal Olympiakos 2-0 Aston Villa (Ayoub El Kaabi).
Goal!
Goal! Olympiakos 2, Aston Villa 0. Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiakos) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Konstantinos Tzolakis with a through ball.Goal awarded following VAR Review.
Substitution
Substitution, Olympiakos. Apostolis Apostolopoulos replaces Quini.
Post update
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Panagiotis Retsos.
Comments
Join the conversation
Fantastic result for football.
Olympiacos are a very, very good side. They showed it here over the two legs. Villa simply weren’t good enough last week or tonight.
As here comes a Kaabi