Aston Villa suffered at the hands of Olympiacos once again, as Unai Emery watched his side crash out of the Europa Conference League on a night that saw two of his players have a dispute.
Olympiacos progressed to the Europa Conference League final on Thursday night, as Aston Villa’s journey in the tournament came to an end after two defeats over the semi-final legs.
Not many would have expected the Greek side to brush the Premier League side aside with an aggregate score of 6-2, adding two goals to their 4-2 victory in the first leg at Villa Park.
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It was hoped that Unai Emery’s side would have studied the clinical streak of striker Ayoub El Kaabi ahead of the game after the Moroccan scored a hattrick in the opener in Birmingham.
Instead, the Olympiacos talisman netted another two goals to take his tally to five in the tie, proving to be too much for Villa to handle.
A lot of things didn’t go right for the Villans as the squad looked jaded and far from the level needed to overturn the disappointment of the first leg, on what was a night to forget for the Midlands club, who saw two players have a falling out.
Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey spotted arguing in Aston Villa defeat to Olympiacos
It was a frustrating game for all of Villa’s players, with the first half evidently causing a lot of restlessness for Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey.
As relayed by journalist Jacob Tanswell, the Villa duo were seen exchanging ‘heated words’ before the interval, as the visitor’s anxieties seemed to pour out onto the pitch.
While it is unknown what the pair were having a dispute over, there could be a list of reasons given the task that the Villans failed miserably to overcome in Greece, as Emery’s side saw their European adventure come to an end.
What went wrong for Aston Villa against Olympiacos
There were a host of things that went wrong for Emery’s squad over the tie, who looked far from inspired due to the number of games the Premier League outfit has played recently.
Despite levelling the tie at 2-2 during the first leg, Olympiacos’ desire to progress was unable to be matched by the Villans, who seemed jaded from the Sunday-Thursday schedule.
Credit must not be diverted away from the Greek side, who were a well-worked squad governed by Jose Luis Mendilibar, earning their place in the final alongside Fiorentina.
It was a disheartening night for the Midlands club, as seen through the words exchanged between Luiz and Bailey before half-time in Piraeus.
Now, Emery’s squad will be playing for a top-four finish in the Premier League, with Champions League football on the brink of being confirmed in what has been a remarkable season.
