OLYMPIACOS are the newly crowned Europa Conference League kings after beating Fiorentina 1-0 in extra time.
Ayoub El Kaabi was the hero for the Greeks, bagging the winner right at the death.
Olympiacos made history on the night, becoming the first Greek club to win a major European trophy.
- Match result: Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
- Olympiacos team: Tzolakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Carmo, Ortega; Hezze, Iborra, Chiquinho; Fortounis, Podence, El Kaabi
- Fiorentina team: Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Martine Quarta, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Arthur, Mandragora; Gonzalez, Kouame, Belotti
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Olympiacos are European champions
Olympiacos have lifted their first ever European title in Athens!
An absolutely tremendous effort from a team that went through leaps and bounds this season.
A crowning moment for veterans like Giorgos Masouras, Youssef El Arabi and of course the captain Kostas Fortounis.
Evangelos Marinakis has officially won it all with the team, which has turned into a proper European outfit.
A team that has made it out of the group stages of a major European competition 14 times out of their last 16 attempts, and now can rightly call themselves champions of Europe.
This city is not sleeping tonight as all the fans will celebrate until the morning – supporters who backed the team through thick and thin even during the worst possible times.
That’s all from us here at SunSport, have a great night!
Credit: Getty Credit: Reuters Guard of honour
Olympiacos have set up a guard of honour for Fiorentina players.
In the meantime, owner Evangelos Marinakis has stepped up on the podium to hand out medals alongside Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and Greek official Theodoros Theodoridis.
Theodoridis is Uefa’s general secretary and has returned to his home country to award the first ever Geek European champions.
The fans are anxiously waiting for the trophy…
Credit: Reuters What’s next for Olympiacos?
Olympiacos have now advanced for next season’s Europa League competition.
The Greek giants have made it to the league phase of the competition.
That means no qualifiers for the Piraeus outfit this summer.
This will give owner Evangelos Marinakis enough time to sort out the contracts of 18 players whose deals come up on June 30.
Credit: Getty
Fiorentina stars gutted
Fiorentina gave it their all and dominated possession as well as tempo throughout the match.
However, they were undone after Olympiacos’ best attack in the 116th minute.
The players are dejected as they have fallen to the ground some with their shirts over their heads.
Manager Vincenzo Italiano is also sitting in his dugout struggling to find the words after a second consecutive loss in a Europa Conference League final.
Credit: AP Mendilibar’s miracle continues
Olympiacos boss Jose Luis Mendilibar has done the unthinkable after only joining the club in February.
Mendilibar will lift his second consecutive European title after last season’s Europa League triumph with Sevilla.
The entire ground is chanting the Spanish tactician’s name, and why wouldn’t they.
The players are celebrating in front of their fans – and it’s all taking place on one of their rival’s new stadiums…
Credit: Getty Credit: Getty Olympiacos vs Fiorentina stats
Fiorentina dominated 54 per cent of possession against Olympiacos.
The Viola registered 17 shots but only four of them were on target.
Olympiacos, on the other hand, had only six shots, four of which were on target.
More below:
FT: Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
Olympiacos have won their first and only European title by beating Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League Final… in Athens!
The competition’s top goalscorer Ayoub El Kaabi was the difference maker once more with his 11th goals in nine matches.
El Kaabi, who won Man of the Match, met a stunning cross from Santiago Hezze from the left and finally beat Pietro Terracciano with a clinical header.
This is Olympiacos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar’s second consecutive European title after winning the Europa League last season with Sevilla.
Credit: Getty FT: Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
Peep!
Olympiacos are European champions for the first time ever!!!
120+4 Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
Fiorentina seem to have accepted the result, they are out of energy.
Olympiacos subs are standing at pitch side waiting for the final whistle.
120 Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
Substitution
Olympiacos boss Mendilibar makes his final change with top scorer El Kaabi coming off for the legendary El-Arabi, who scored that unforgetable goal that eliminated Arsenal at the Emirates in 2020.
120 Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
This place has come unglued, Olympiacos are only five minutes of stoppage time away from their first and only European title!
The place is about to explode!
116 Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
It’s a goal for Olympiacos! El Kaabi wasn’t offside!
The striker, though, was booked after his celebration.
116 Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina
Olympiacos break the deadlock, or have they?
Hezze delivers a cross from the left and finds El Kaabi who gets the diving header.
But VAR is checking for offside…
This is a stressful time in Athens…
113 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Olympiacos fans are pushing the team forward but the players can’t get that final ball.
Fiorentina continue to dominate possession and are giving Olympiacos all sorts of problems inside the area with a raft of bodies.
110 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Chance
Fiorentina star Ikone finds himself unmarked inside the box and tries a shot but it’s too weak and Tzolakis picks it up with ease.
110 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Olympiacos giving the ball away easily in midfield.
Fiorentina are growing in confidence.
108 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Olympiacos are without some of their most creative players in Chiquinho, Podence and Fortounis.
If this goes on penalties then they can barely count the clinical shooters.
106 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Subtitution
And Olympiacos boss Mendilibar plays his final hand as Masouras replaces Podence, who may have played his last game for the club before returning to Wolves.
106 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Substitution
Fiorentina boss Italiano shakes things up with a double change as Ranieri and Beltran come on for captain Biraghi and Gonzalez respectively.
Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Peep!
Off we go in the second half of extra-time!!!
HT: Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Peep!
That’s half-time at extra-time!!!
103 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Olympiacos have two centre-forwards but often find themselves with one forward isolated in the final third.
Fiorentina are moving the ball very nicely with long balls that lead to promising rebounds but their finishing has been poor.
100 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Retsos has been wearing the armband since Fortounis was subbed off.
A true captain’s performance from the centre-back who shook off a head injury while the Olympiacos physios were calling for a change.
The Greece international is truly leaving it all on the pitch for his team in the final.
98 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Yellow card
Fiorentina captain Biraghi booked for an elbow to Rodinei’s face.
96 Olympiacos 0-0 Fiorentina
Chance!
Olympiacos star Jovetic almost scored against his former club with a stunning shot that Terracciano just managed to save with his fingertips after a lunge to his bottom left corner.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
