Captain John McGinn admitted Aston Villa were “absolutely gutted” to see this season’s European adventure come to end in the semi-finals.
Villa dominated possession and enjoyed more attempts on goal in their UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final second leg against Olympiacos at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis.
Yet a brace from Ayoub El Kaabi inflicted a 2-0 defeat in Piraeus and a 6-2 aggregate reverse, coming after a 4-2 loss at Villa Park in the first leg.
It ensured Villa’s European adventure, which started against Hibernian in August’s play-off round, came to an end.
Nevertheless, Villa can remain proud of a campaign which has seen them reach the final four in their first major European competition for 15 years and compete for a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Asked whether it was important defeat doesn’t take away from the club’s successful season, McGinn said: “It won’t take it away, but our instant feeling is absolutely gutted.
“We all wanted to be back here for the final.
“Olympiacos gave it absolutely everything, played out of their skin in both legs, and overall the scoreline proves they were the better team.
“We’ll reflect, there’s a lot of things we could have done better, but over the season, of course, we can be proud of the journey.
“Obviously, we need to apologise to the supporters who have travelled here, they’ve travelled the whole campaign with us.
“We wanted to deliver a trophy to them, we all wanted it as players. We’re all bitterly disappointed, but we need a big push in the last two games to try and get over the line for the Champions League, which would be an astronomical achievement.
“But here, the overriding feeling is disappointment, frustration and an opportunity missed.
“Congratulations to Olympiacos and we wish them all the best in the final.”
Skipper McGinn admitted the tie was lost in the first leg as Villa fell to a 4-2 defeat on home soil and looked to overturn a two-goal deficit in Greece.
The Villans gave it their all amid a raucous atmosphere on Thursday night as they searched for a route back into the tie, but it wasn’t to be.
El Kaabi, who bagged a hat-trick in the initial meeting, converted an early finish from close range against the run of play, before ending the contest in the 78th minute as he broke clear and found the net, with a lengthy VAR review ruling him onside.
“Believe it or not, we actually started the game very well, the first half was a really good performance by us,” added McGinn.
“But, over the two legs, very, very disappointing obviously.
“We went into this competition as favourites and we handled that pressure throughout the competition, I think it’s been a huge learning curve for us.
“It’s not been a smooth journey, we got to the semi-finals down to the bare bones a bit.
“However, those of us who were out there over the two legs, we lost to who were the better team and I think the scoreline proves it.”
