Olympiacos downs Aston Villa to take major step towards European ...

Olympiacos has scored a famous win over Premier League side Aston Villa to go one game away from making their first ever European final.

The Piraeus giants defeated the English outfit 2-4 away on Friday morning (AEST) in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals, putting them in prime position to qualify for the final of the competition.

The “red-whites” went ahead in the 17th minute through an Ayoub El Kaabi finish that was initially called offside but was overruled by VAR.

El Kaabi then found a second soon after to double his team’s advantage (29′).

Aston Villa got back into the contest right before half time via a lovely effort into the bottom left by marksman Ollie Watkins (45+1′).

The hosts eventually brought it level early into the second period following a clever shot from winger Moussa Diaby that went past goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis at the near post from a very tight angle (52′).

Olympiacos regained the lead just minutes later after winning a penalty, which El Kaabi managed to slot into the bottom left to complete his hat-trick (56′).

The Greek club was able to restore their two-goal advantage through a fortuitous long shot by midfielder Santiago Hezze, which took a big deflection off a defender to stumble goalkeeper Robin Olsen and go into the net (67′).

Aston Villa had a golden chance to get one back after they won a penalty, but they squandered the opportunity as midfielder Douglas Luiz hit the right post (84′), ensuring Olympiacos held onto their two-goal lead on aggregate heading into the second leg.

The Piraeus giants are now just 90 minutes away from advancing past Aston Villa into the UECL final, which will be played in Athens at AEK’s “Agia Sophia” Stadium.