Aston Villa Crash to Shock 2-4 Defeat Against Olympiacos in Europa Conference League Semi-Final
Villa's European Dream in Tatters After First-Leg Debacle
Aston Villa captain John McGinn admitted that his team were "outplayed and outfought" by Olympiacos in their Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg clash on Thursday night.
The Greek side raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from El Kaabi and Holebas, and although Villa pulled a goal back through Watkins just before half-time, Olympiacos restored their two-goal advantage through Masouras early in the second half.
Villa substitute Ramsey gave the home side hope when he made it 3-2 with just over 20 minutes remaining, but Olympiacos sealed the win with a fourth goal from El Kaabi in the 85th minute.
The result leaves Villa with a mountain to climb in the second leg next week, and McGinn admitted that his team will need to produce a "special performance" if they are to overturn the deficit.
"We're very disappointed with the result," said McGinn. "We didn't start the game well and we were punished for it. We got ourselves back into the game just before half-time, but we conceded another poor goal at the start of the second half.
"We showed a lot of character to come back to 3-2, but we couldn't find an equaliser and they got a fourth goal in the end. We're going to need to produce a special performance next week if we're going to turn this tie around."
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