Olympiakos triumphs in Conference League final
The Reds win Greece's first ever European trophy in club competitions
Olympiakos has become the first Greek club to win a European cup as on Wednesday it defeated Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final in Athens.
The Reds defeated the Italian team 1-0 in extra time and triggered a night-long party across Greece, thanks to a goal five minutes from the end of the additional 30 minutes.
The final was not an exciting affair for the neutrals, but very dramatic for the fans at the stadium.
The game was mostly balanced in the 120 minutes played, with the two teams appearing particularly cautious in defense.
Fiorentina was the most proactive in the first half and created more chances, against an Olympiakos that had Kostas Fortounis on a rather poor night.
Instead, the introduction of Stevan Jovetic – a former Fiorentina player – livened up the Olympiakos attack in the second half. The Montenegrin missed a great chance to score early in extra time, pulling a spectacular save from Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano.
The game looked destined for a penalty shootout, but five minutes from the end of extra time a Santiago Hezze cross from the left found Ayoub El Kaabi, who headed the ball falling to the ground and found the back of the net for the most famous goal in Olympiakos’ history.
The remaining minutes were dramatic as well as sweet for the Reds’ fans, who erupted like a volcano at full time.
The difficult operation of policing the arrival of the fans at the stadium was successful for the Greek authorities, that had practically locked down the Athens district of Nea Filadelfia for about 24 hours prior to the final.
Reports before the game spoke of some vandalism phenomena by Olympiakos fans at the stadium, that belongs to Olympiakos rival AEK Athens, while a 48-year-old was arrested outside the stadium bearing a knife.
Earlier two 16-year-old hooded youths were arrested for throwing stones at trains that carried Olympiakos supporters.
In Piraeus there were several fan zones created by the local authorities for Olympiakos supporters to watch the match together, attracting thousands of Reds’ fans.
After the final whistle these fans zones turned into party zones for the entire night.
