In the early morning of the 3rd, a Europa League quarterfinal matchup took place at the home of Villa Astoria. The result was like a bolt from the blue, with a cold index of 6.9 times, and even bold bettors' returns reaching 125 times. If Villa can't turn their fortunes around in the next round, the Premier League teams are likely to be wiped out in this European tournament.
With Villa sitting in fourth place in the Premier League, expectations of a win were not high before the game, with a home win paying just 1.32 times the price. But the situation changed dramatically as soon as the game kicked off, with Olympiakos taking a counter-attacking strategy and Ayubi Ekabi scoring twice in just 29 minutes to go 2-0 up at half-time.
Although Villa quickly leveled the score at 2-2 thanks to goals from Onitsukjens and Moussa Dayabi, a handball by Douglas Reyes in the 56th minute saw him sent off in the penalty area, and Ayubi Ekabi then completed his hat-trick to once again take the lead to 3-2.San Diego Heath then converted a long-range shot to extend the Olympic Army's advantage to 4-2.
Villa had a chance to reduce the deficit with a penalty in the 84th minute, but the 25-year-old Brazilian international was on target for the Duglas Reyes. Villa's loss at home will make it difficult for them to overturn the deficit in the second round, while none of the Premier League teams have a foothold in the Europa League and Europa Cup quarterfinals. If Villa go out, Premier League teams will not be able to make a difference in this year's European Championship.
In another Europa League quarterfinal match, Ferentien beat Bruges 3-2 at home thanks to goals from Leccardo Sutil, Bilodi and Nisuna.
