Ayoub El Kaabi scored a treble as Greece side Olympiacos stunned English outfit Aston Villa 4-2 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final match at Villa Park on Thursday night.
Aston Villa have a big obstacle to overcome, going into the second leg of the encounter in Greece on Thursday, as they are looking to reach the final of a European competition for the first time since 1982.
In the opening 30 minutes of the match, Aston Villa fell to a quick 2-0 Olympiacos upset. El Kaabi scored in the 16th and 29th minutes, but Ollie Watkins put one back for the hosts just before the halftime break.
Seven minutes into the second half, Aston Villa were back in the game after Moussa Diaby put Leon Bailey’s assist behind the net from a very tight angle to make it 2-2.
However, Olympiacos regained the lead four minutes after Diaby’s goal. El Kaabi scored from the spot to complete his hat-trick before Santiago Hezze sealed the win with his 67th-minute strike.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina defeated 10-man Club Brugge 3-2 in the first leg of the second Europa Conference League semi-final tie at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Italy on Thursday.
Five minutes into the encounter, Riccardo Sottil opened the scoring for Fiorentina, but Hans Vanaken equalised for Club Brugge in the 17th minute. Andrea Belotti regained the lead for Fiorentina in the 37th minute.
Super Eagles midfielder Raphael Onyedika was sent off in the 61st after a second yellow, but Club Brugge somehow managed to equalise again three minutes later through Thiago Rodrigues despite being one man down.
However, a late M’Bala Nzola goal in the first minute of the five minutes of added time secured a crucial home win for Fiorentina going into the second leg in Belgium next week Thursday.
