Olympiakos threw Aston Villa out of Europe, which was checked by Mendilibar

Manos Staramopoulos • 10 de mayo de 2024

The night is unique for Olympiakos and Greek football, it is a night that will go down in history for the epic qualification of the port side to the final of the Conference League

Olympiacos Pyreus reached the epic qualification of the port side to the final of the UEFA Conference League.

The night is unique for Olympiakos and Greek football, it is a night that will go down in history for the epic qualification of the port side to the final of the UEFA Conference League.


Magical, indescribable, historic, unrepeatable and amazing: The Olympiacos of Jose Luis Mendilibar, Tzolakis, Carmo, Iborra, Fortounis and Podence achieved the biggest qualification in the history of the Greek team. He beat the famous and high-budget English side Aston Villa twice, first with 2-4 in Birmingham, at home and then on Thursday night (9/5) in Piraeus, in the "Georgos Karaiskakis" packed with 32,000 fans. And Olympiacos, for the first time in its 99-year history, qualified for the final of a European competition, and more specifically, that of the Europa UEFA Conference League. Thus they became the second Greek team to appear in the final, 51 years later (2/6/1971) after Panathinaikos, who had qualified for the final of the Champions Cup.


The "red and whites" in the second semi-final against Aston Villa faced almost no resistance. They managed to score twice with Moroccan international forward Ayoub El Kaabi (he had 3 at Villa Park) and easily beat Unai Emery's high-paid side 2-0. It was the end for the English team as the English press later pointed out.


What happened to "Georgios Karaiskakis" was an explosion of a "volcano". And the red… lava melted Aston Villa. Undoubtedly, this played an important role in the outcome of the match and the securing of qualification by the Greek team.


What the Olympiakos football players experienced in terms of support shows the power of this sea of people. It proves that the world of Olympiakos is a giant whose like can hardly exist.


Aston Villa, which occupies the 4th place in the Premier League and will logically appear next season in the expanded UEFA Champions League, fought with its "back against the wall". He wanted to make a strong start to the game to surprise the home team, but in the equation of the game there was the decisive factor called Jose Luis Mendilibar. And who had very carefully studied every move of his countryman, Unai Emery and for the second time in a row he did...MAT.


At almost no point in the match did the Olympiakos players allow the visitors to approach or threaten the goal of the young goalkeeper, Constantis Tzolakis, while with the constant changes of positions they created serious problems for the defense of Aston Villa. Thus, twice the Moroccan center forward, Ayoub El Kaabi escaped his personal opponents and sent the ball into the Argentinian net, Emiliano Martinez (he passed the ball under his feet the second time). So Olympiakos, which won 4-2 in England, left Unai Emery's team in the cold and will now fight the big battle in the final of the Europa Conference League on May 29, on Greek soil and more specifically in Hagia Sophia , against Francesco Iuliano's Fiorentina.

And of course, just like in "Karaiskakis", so too in New Philadelphia they will make a contribution of their souls with the aim of lifting their first European trophy...


Manos Staramopoulos

Journalist and Analyst of International Football and Affairs

Chief Editor English Zone of Discoveryfootball.com

Athens (Greece)

   Post recientes


Por Manos Staramopoulos 16 de abril de 2025
Arsenal failed to maintain the euphoric atmosphere that existed after the imposing 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Their tank was almost... empty, stuck at 1-1 against Brentford, and now Mikel Arteta's team seems to be raising the white flag in the championship battle!.  Now Arsenal is turning its attention exclusively to the Champions League, where after the 3-0 win, it seems to have a big lead to qualify for the semi-finals of the top club competition in Europe, if not the world.
El Barcelona de Hansi Flick jugará las semis de la Champions.
Por Juan Carlos Quiñonez Bonilla 15 de abril de 2025
El cuadro de Hansi Flick fue superado en todo por un gran Borussia Dortmund que lo devoró a base de intensidad.
Vangelis  Pavlidis striker of SL Benfica
Por Manos Staramopoulos 11 de abril de 2025
The greek striker is the first Benfica player to score 3 goals in Porto's famous "Dragão" and it is logical that his name now appears quite often on the front pages of Portuguese newspapers.
Barcelona very close of  reaches of the Champions League semifinals after won to BVB
Por Manos Staramopoulos 11 de abril de 2025
The German's Barcelona head coach, Hansi Flick's, crushed Borussia Dortmund 4-0, which caused a storm of enthusiasm among its fans.
Lamine Yamal great star of FC Barcelona
Por Manos Staramopoulos 9 de abril de 2025
Yamal made a big splash at Barcelona's party against german team in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals held at Montjuic.
El Arsenal venció al Real Madrid 3-0  en Londres
Por Juan Carlos Quiñonez Bonilla 8 de abril de 2025
El Arsenal venció al Real Madrid 3-0 en Londres y dio un paso clave hacia las semis de la Champions
Everton`s team mates in    a  full  match of Premier League in 2024
Por Juan Carlos Quiñonez Bonilla 7 de abril de 2025
Everton have recorded a loss of €63.4m in the 2023/24 season, their seventh consecutive year of financial losses
Nico  O`Reilly new star of Manchester City
Por Manos Staramopoulos 2 de abril de 2025
Nico O’Reilly is the reason why Manchester City did not exit the FA Cup and overturned Bournemouth, winning 2-1 to reach the semi-final at Wembley on 26 or 27 April
Carlo Ancelotti coach of Real Madrid`s
Por Manos Staramopoulos 27 de marzo de 2025
Brazil wants a new head coach after the defeat against Argentina 4-1 in Monumental Stadium. The italian coach is number one candidate.