This Wednesday evening, the Greek club beat the Italian club (1-0 ap) in the C4 final.
On the roof of Olympus! Olympiakos won the Europa Conference League, the first European title for a Greek club, by beating Fiorentina after extra time (1-0) on Wednesday evening in Athens.
Fiorentina lost for the second consecutive year in the final of this C4 after its failure last season against the English club West Ham. In a match that was long locked in and poor in chances, we had to wait until the end of extra time and long minutes of VAR verification to grant a goal from Ayoub El Kaabi in the 116th minute and deliver Olympiakos.
Very little in sight throughout the match, the Moroccan striker waited for the best moment to score his 11th goal in the competition, of which he is the top scorer, by heading a cross from Santiago Hezze from six meters. In the stadium of rival AEK Athens, carried by 15,000 red and white supporters, the Greeks were the first to appear dangerous. From the 3rd minute, winger Podence saw his shot at the entrance to the area diverted for a corner by Terracciano.
The Florentines responded quickly and thought they had opened the scoring in the 8th minute on a low cross but the goal was disallowed for an offside position by Milenkovic. Despite a lively and engaged start to the match, the pace of the match gradually fell, undermined by numerous technical inaccuracies.
El Kaabi lightning
The second half, particularly choppy, saw contacts multiply. The tension increased over the minutes and the shocks were then rougher, requiring the intervention of the trainers for Retsos (48th) then Podence (62nd).
On the line, the two teams tried to force the decision but Tzolakis ahead of Kouamé (68th) and Terraccino against Jovetic (95th) showed themselves to be imperial to preserve their clean sheets. The Greeks could have ruminated on a handball not whistled in the Italian area at the very start of extra time, but while the players seemed to be waiting for the penalty shootout, El Kaabi’s lightning delivered his team in front of a red and white corner unleashed.
Author of a failed start to the championship, Olympiakos has changed technicians three times, seven times in total over the last two seasons, but has transformed since the arrival on the bench of the Spaniard José Luis Mendilibar in February, finishing in third place in the Greek Super League.
Winner of the Europa League with Sevilla last year, the 63-year-old coach achieved a European double in two years. Olympiakos, the most successful club in Greece with 47 championships and 28 national cups, adds a new line to its already extensive list of achievements. The most prestigious. The Piraeus club, which will celebrate its hundredth anniversary next year, continues to write its legend.
