Moroccan international football player, Ayoub El Kaabi, led Olympiakos to victory in the Europa Conference League (UEFA) finals on Wednesday, after scoring the one and only goal of the match against Fiorentina.
Played at Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, Greece, with both teams showing strong energy and determination, neither scored in the first 90 minutes.
With the game heading to a penalty shootout, El Kaabi got in front of his mark and headed home Santiago Hezze’s cross, scoring in the 116th minute, but the players and spectators had to wait for VAR to verify he wasn’t offside before the goal was awarded.
It was the Moroccan striker’s 11th goal in the Conference League this season, all in the knockout rounds, and his 16th in Europe, having also scored in the Europa League qualifications and group stage.
El Kaabi scored five goals over two legs as the team defeated Premier League side Aston Villa in the semi-finals to become the first African to do it.
The title presentation was a memorable occasion for Olympiakos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar, who had won the Europa League with Sevilla last season before taking over the Greek club in February.
Greek fans at the AEK Arena roared as the ball went in, their intensity increasing when VAR confirmed the goal, ensuring Olympiakos’ participation in the Europa League next season.
Outside the stadium, hundreds of Olympiakos supporters gathered in the port of Piraeus to celebrate enthusiastically after the final whistle, lighting crimson rockets and pyrotechnics.
Olympiakos is the first Greek team to win a European title, although Panathinaikos came close in 1971, losing the European Cup final to Ajax Amsterdam.
Fiorentina suffered their second straight defeat in the Europa Conference League final, after having reached this season’s top showdown undefeated.