It was an historic night for Greek football as Ayoub El Kaabi’s extra-time goal was enough to seen Olympiakos beat Fiorentina to win the Europa Conference League final held at the AEK Arena in Athens.
This defeat is yet another heartbreak for Fiorentina, who were losing the second final in a row after missing out on the title last season in a painful defeat to West Ham last year with Jarrod Bowen’s late goal breaking the Italian hearts last season.
El Kaabi, who had been a key figure in Olympiacos’ run to the final, stooped low to head in Santiago Hezze’s cross and even the the lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was not enough to stop from the Moroccan striker from grabbing the headlines. The goal turned out to be his 11th goal of the competition and sealed Olympiacos’ victory.
Olympiakos started the stronger of the two sides, hoping to reward their fans who traveled to watch their team attempt to make history, as this was only the second time a Greek team had reached a European final.
Both sides traded blows in a first half that promised goalmouth action but resulted in few clear chances. The second half could not produce a winner also until El Kaabi – who scored five goals in the semi-finals against Aston Villa – popped up to give his team the crucial goal.
