Aston Villa will head to Greece with a two-goal deficit after going down to Olympiacos in the first leg of the club’s Europa Conference League semi-final.
A fired-up Villa Park saw Leon Bailey’s early goal ruled out before the visitors forged ahead on 16 minutes when Ayoub El Kaabi beat the offside trap and fired past Robin Olsen.
The striker doubled his tally with a smart finish, but a drilled shot from Ollie Watkins gave Villa a foothold in the match in first-half stoppage time.
The goals continued to flow in the second half as Moussa Diaby levelled the scores minutes before El Kaabi completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot.
A deflected effort from Santiago Hezze restored Olympiacos’ two-goal cushion, while a frustrating night for the hosts was rounded off when Douglas Luiz missed a penalty.
Villa will now regroup ahead of a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday before preparing for the second leg in Athens.
Villa Park bristled with anticipation ahead of the club’s first major European semi-final since 1982, with the home fans creating an atmosphere befitting of the occasion.
And the stadium was ready to erupt after six minutes when Morgan Rogers drove forward and sent a placed effort curling towards the bottom corner, only to see Kostas Tzolakis tip it around the post.
Minutes later, the hosts did have the ball in the net when Bailey nodded home from close range, but the goal was chalked off for a foul in the build-up.
Backed by a passionate away support, Olympiacos stunned Villa Park when they took the lead against the run of play on 16 minutes.
Having latched onto a through ball and fired past Olsen, El Kaabi had initially seen his goal disallowed for offside before replays revealed he’d stayed onside by the narrowest of margins.
The Moroccan striker was proving to be a constant menace, and he punished Villa for a second time when he nodded Daniel Podence’s chipped pass away from Olsen before sending a shot underneath the ‘keeper.
Frustration was mounting in the stands, but the home side stuck to their task and gave themselves a foothold in the game as the match ticked into first-half stoppage time.
A swift move down the right ended with Diaby sliding a pass through to Watkins, who unerringly sent a first-time shot into the far corner.
Any disappointment felt by being behind at the break quickly evaporated seven minutes into the second half when Villa levelled the scores.
Clement Lenglet’s raking crossfield pass was controlled by Bailey and laid into the path of Diaby, with the winger beating Tzolakis at his near post from a tight angle.
However, just as it seemed the pendulum had swung in Villa’s favour, Olympiakos were awarded a penalty when Panagiotis Retsos’ header struck Luiz’s arm.
El Kaabi stepped up and sent Olsen the wrong way to restore the Greek team’s lead just four minutes after they’d lost it.
Eleven minutes later, the away fans had a fourth goal to celebrate as Hezze’s shot took a wicked deflection off the back of Ezri Konsa and wrong-footed Olsen.
Jhon Durán was sent on to make an impact and he did just that when he drew a foul in the penalty area and gave Luiz the chance to pull one back from the spot. The Brazilian stepped up in his trademark manner but sent his effort off the post and wide of the target.
