Aston Villa's European dream is over after losing to Olympiacos in the semi-final of the Europa Conference League.
Villa were eyeing a first European final since 1982 but, with the ancient Acropolis in the backdrop of the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, their hopes are now in ruins after a 6-2 aggregate defeat.
They travelled to Athens needing a Herculean effort to overturn a 4-2 deficit from the first leg, but limped to a 2-0 defeat on the night, with last week's hat-trick hero Ayoub El Kaabi scoring the goals which sent the Greek side through to their first-ever European final.
It concluded a miserable season on the continent for Premier League sides as there is no English representative in a final for the first time since 2019-20 and Unai Emery will see this as a huge missed opportunity to win a fifth European trophy in a tournament they were favourites for.
Denne historien er fra May 10, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra May 10, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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