Europa Conference League Semi-Final: Unai Emery's Aston Villa Stunned By Olympiacos In The 1st Leg

On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.

Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.

Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.

In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.

M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.

Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out?Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through?Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.

Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.