Aston Villa suffered a devastating blow in their Europa Conference League semi-final clash against Olympiakos, succumbing to a chaotic 4-2 defeat in the first leg at Villa Park.
According to a report by BBC Sports, the match was a rollercoaster of emotions for Villa captain John McGinn, who admitted that "everything that could have gone wrong, did."
Olympiakos' Ayoub El Kaabi stole the show with a stunning hat-trick, including two early goals that set the tone for the visitors' dominance. Despite a valiant effort from Villa, with Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby finding the back of the net, they were unable to contain Olympiakos' relentless attacking prowess.
The turning point came when El Kaabi converted a penalty and Santiago Hezze's deflected strike put Olympiakos back in front, leaving Villa with a mountain to climb in the second leg in Piraeus on 9th May.
Speaking after the match, McGinn shouldered the responsibility for Villa's performance, acknowledging the mistakes made but remaining optimistic about their chances in the return fixture. Manager Unai Emery echoed McGinn's sentiments, emphasizing the need for improvement and consistency.
Villa's hopes of reaching their first European final since 1982 now hinge on a dramatic turnaround in Greece, where they'll need to produce a vastly improved performance to overcome Olympiakos' determined challenge.
In the other semi-final, Fiorentina secured a thrilling 3-2 home victory over Club Bruges, with M'Bala Nzola scoring a dramatic winner in added time. Despite playing nearly a third of the game with 10 men, Club Bruges put up a spirited fight, but ultimately fell short against Fiorentina's resilient performance. The stage is set for an intense second leg as both teams vie for a spot in the Europa Conference League final.