Olympiakos caused a sensation by winning at Aston Villa (4-2), 4th in the Premier League, thanks in particular to a hat-trick from El-Kaabi, while Fiorentina dominated FC Brugge at the last minute (3- 2), Thursday in the semi-finals first leg of the Europa Conference League.
At Villa Park, under the eyes of Prince William, the Villans were trapped by the Greeks who, despite a difficult start, produced an unexpected performance. This historic success bears the stamp of one player, Ayoub El-Kaabi, author of a resounding hat-trick. The Moroccan international, who started on the edge of offside, put the Piraeus team on the right track. Then, at the end of a similar action he doubled the lead by dribbling past Robin Olson who replaced Dibu Martinez in the goals (29th).
Stunned, the Villans then experienced some hesitation but they had the merit of raising their heads at the end of the first period, Ollie Watkins reducing the score in added time (45 1). Shortly after returning from the locker room, Moussa Diaby put the two teams back on par on the scoreboard by scoring with a sharp shot from a tight angle. A goal which was greeted by a deafening noise throughout Villa Park.
But this joy was short-lived since a penalty stupidly conceded by Douglas Luiz gave El Kaabi the opportunity to score a sensational hat-trick (56th, 3-2) before Hezze on a deflected ball worsened the situation. score for the visitors, especially as Dougals Luiz missed a penalty for hope six minutes from time.
In the other half, Fiorentina suffered but ended up finding the solution against FC Bruges who finished outnumbered for the last half hour. La Viola relied on the individual exploits of its attackers: Riccardo Sottil with a shot into the top corner (5th), Andrea Belotti with a powerful shot from close range (37th) and M’bala Nzola in added time (90 1).
Captain Hans Vanaken first equalized on a penalty following a handball sanctioned after recourse to VAR (17th), and Thiago secondly, believed to offer Bruges a draw just after the exclusion of Onyedika for a second warning (63). The return matches will be played in a week for a place in the final in Athens.
