UECL: Villa's trophy hopes severely dented

 Aston Villa 2 - 4 Olympiakos

"Everything that could have gone wrong, did."

Those were the words of one Aston Villa fan as their chances of reaching a first European final since 1982 were severely dented against Olympiakos.

The star man on the night for the visitors was Ayoub El Kaabi. He scored a hat-trick, netting twice early on. Ollie Watkins then reduced the deficit for Unai Emery's side and Moussa Diaby equalised moments after the interval.

Villa Park was rocking at this point, creating an atmosphere that had not been seen at the famous old stadium for many years. 

However, Olympiakos roared back into a two-goal lead with a El Kaabi penalty and a deflected strike from Santiago Hezze. 

Douglas Luiz missed a late penalty, meaning Villa must overturn a two-goal deficit in the second leg. 

The Greek Super League side have actually never reached a major European final. They played without fear and attacking verve as they pressed and harassed Villa into defensive mistakes. They looked like the experienced European side they actually are and are well deserving of this position. Their fans will be confident that they can hold out in the second leg. 

The best reaction to this six-goal thriller

You hear some of the reaction from Aston Villa fans via the 'Claret and Blue - Aston Villa Podcast' in the video below.

Frank, an Aston Villa fan, spoke about Villa's missed penalty on Facebook. He added: "It's important to remember that anyone can miss a penalty and it's not fair to single out Douglas Luiz for criticism. The penalty attempt during the game seemed to sum up Villa's overall performance. As the referee settled the jostling players, Douglas Luiz stared through the net at the Holte End, almost in a trance. When the whistle blew, he started his shuffling approach, which had never failed him before this season. Unfortunately, it did against Olympiakos."

Ryan spoke about the match in the context of the season, saying: "We're running on empty now. The ideas are there, but all of these matches and an ever-increasing catalogue of injuries are taking their toll. I don't see us getting back into this tie but I'm still incredibly proud of this team for their efforts this season. We will need to get better at managing the extra matches if we are to be a success going forward."