Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis joins fervent Olympiacos after Aston Villa win

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 3 May 2024 19:34 BST
• 1 min read

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis joined the ranks of Olympiacos supporters at Villa Park, after the club's monumental 4-2 victory over Aston Villa.

This triumph dealt a significant blow to Villa's aspirations in the Europa Conference League, with the second-leg still yet to play.

Marinakis, owner of Olympiacos, immersed himself in the fervent away crowd, engaging with fellow fans, exchanging high-fives and embraces in the post-match celebration.

Olympiacos earned the win via Ayoub El Kaabi's hat-trick and Santiago Hezze's crucial strike. Despite Villa's efforts with goals from Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby, Olympiakos maintained their dominance, leaving the home side facing an uphill battle in the return leg, with a two-goal deficit.

It was a huge win against a side in a Champions League spot in the Premier League this season.

Villa head coach Unai Emery said after the game: "I’m frustrated, really frustrated, but I have to accept it.

“We didn’t play well. We built here at home one style, one idea that’s so, so strong.

“Today, we lost. Of course, sometimes we can lose but today in the key moment to get something in Europe, we lost a good opportunity.

“We deserved to lose and they deserved to win. We are going to try to recover quick because next week we have the opportunity to recover the result.

“We have the Premier League and it's very important on Sunday. As always, in 38 matches is the most important because it’s where you can feel strong in 38 matches being consistent.