Matt Maher's analysis after Aston Villa's European defeat

Matt Maher gives his take after Aston Villa are beaten 4-2 against Olympiacos.

Transcript

00:00Good evening from Villa Park where it finished. Villa 2 Olympiacos 4 in the first leg of the

00:08Europa Conference League semi-final. Villa with Mount Olympus to scale next week in Greece. After

00:16a bit of a nightmare night, chaotic evening, a world away from the control that Unai Emery

00:24often preaches, Villa were 2-0 down inside half an hour. They came back to be drawing 2-2 and

00:31you really thought then the momentum was on their side. But they conceded again from a penalty,

00:37you know, conceded by Douglas Luiz for a handball. Perhaps harsh but he did have his arms raised and

00:45Ayub El-Karbi, the Olympiacos Moroccan international who'd scored both their goals in the first half,

00:51completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot. And then a moment of misfortune, Santiago

00:58Jesus shot, speculative shot from distance, deflecting off Ezra Iconza, beating Robin Olsen

01:04and 4-2. Villa pushing for a way back, had the perfect opportunity when substitute Jean

01:11Duran is put down in the box. But Luiz, usually so reliable from the penalty spot, really summed

01:18up his and Villa's night by putting the spot kick wide. And Villa, you know, despite pushing hard

01:25at the end, could not get another goal which would have reduced the deficit. So it means they've got

01:29to come from two goals down next week. Unai Emery not pleased with the performance, said that his

01:35team failed to follow the game plan. You suspect he may look at himself as well. Obviously they

01:41were out Emi Martinez through suspension. You couldn't blame Robin Olsen for any of the goals,

01:46but you know, Villa's defence didn't look solid all night. They did miss Martinez's presence,

01:52you felt. The one unenforced change, Clement Longley coming into the team for the first time

01:58in a month, replacing Pau Torres. He didn't have a particularly great evening. And as I said, Villa

02:04just, you know, at the back looked like they were going to concede every time Olympiacos came forward.

02:10On the flip side, Villa looked like he scored goals as well. Olympiacos have been involved in

02:15some crazy ties. So it's not over, but it's a long way back.