Final against Florence
Final! Olympiakos against Fiorentina from 9pm LIVE
Olympiakos Piraeus have won the Conference League and become the first Greek club ever to celebrate a European Cup triumph. The Moroccan Ayoub El Kaabi decided the final against AC Fiorentina on Wednesday Central European Time in Athens with his goal in the 116th minute of extra time. It was well past midnight in the Greek capital when the score was 1-0. Like last year, Fiorentina lost the final against West Ham.
After two hard-fought halves, many had already expected a penalty shoot-out. But then El Kaabi threw himself into a cross from the left in the penalty area and headed the ball into the goal. The VAR checked for a possible offside and eventually awarded the goal. It was the 30-year-old's 16th goal of the European Cup season.
Fiorentina had qualified for the Conference League in the play-off. The team from the Tuscan capital had beaten SK Rapid by a wafer-thin 2:1 in two games at the end of August 2023. In the final, luck ran out for the Serie A eighth-placed team.
At eye level
The two teams went toe-to-toe from the outset at the AEK Athens stadium. The first dangerous shot of the game came from the Greek side. Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano had to intervene when Daniel Podence (4) shot from the edge of the box. The Italians, however, immediately countered and even scored a goal in the 10th minute, but it was disallowed for offside.
After the wild opening phase, the game calmed down somewhat before Fiorentina's Giacomo Bonaventura was responsible for a double chance in the 21st minute: first his over-center shot with the inside of his boot was easy prey for Konstantinos Tzolakis, and just a few seconds later the Greek keeper made a one-on-one save from the 34-year-old. In the closing stages, Morocco's El Kaabi made his first appearance in the Violets' penalty area. The Olympiakos goalkeeper collided with Terracciano and was penalized with a foul.
The second 45 minutes were rather disjointed. Many interrupted or accidental actions and ball losses characterized the action on both sides. The intensity remained high - both in the stands and on the pitch. However, there were no chances worth mentioning for a long time until Fiorentina's Christian Kouamé found himself completely free to shoot in the penalty area in the 69th minute. The Ivorian did not hit the ball ideally with the inside of his boot, but Tzolakis had to stretch himself to clear the shot for a corner.
The decision
For the Greeks, Vicente Iborra (80') got on the end of a cross in the penalty area and his header just missed the left upright. His team-mate El Kaabi (84) also narrowly missed a free-kick - the famous "lucky punch" was not to be. The clock ticked down relentlessly, including seven minutes of stoppage time, and the seemingly inevitable extra time became a certainty shortly before midnight local time. In extra time, Terracciano fended off a long-range shot from Stevan Jovetic (96'), while Jonathan Ikone was denied by Tzolakis at the other end (110'). Then came the Greek tragedy for the "Viola".
Stevan Jovetic (Olympiakos striker): "It's a great feeling. I'm really proud of my boys. I think we've done a great job all year and we deserve it. I would like to compliment Fiorentina. They've been in the final two years in a row, they're a great team. It's a tragedy for them and I wish them all the best."
Konstantinos Tzolakis (Olympiakos goalkeeper): "It's unbelievable. For our fans, our history. It's the first time. I don't know what will happen now, but our fans are crazy and we will celebrate with them."
Olympiakos Piraeus - ACF Fiorentina 1:0 after extra time (0:0)
Athens, AEK Arena, 32,000 spectators
Referee Artur Soares Dias (POR)
Goal: 1:0 (116') El Kaabi
Olympiakos: Tzolakis - Rodinei, Retsos, Carmo, Ortega (91. Quini) - Hezze, Iborra - Podence (106. Masouras), Chiquinho (77. Andre Horta), Fortounis (73. Jovetic) - El Kaabi (122. El Arabi)
Fiorentina: Terracciano - Dodo, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Biraghi (106. Ranieri) - Arthur Melo (74. Duncan), Mandragora - Gonzalez (106. Beltran), Bonaventura (82. Barak), Kouame (82. Ikone) - Belotti (59. Nzola)
Yellow cards: Podence, Jovetic, Paschalakis, El Kaabi or Martinez Quarta, Kouame, Biraghi
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