A furious Unai Emery berated his Aston Villa players on the pitch during their shock 4-2 defeat to Olympiakos.
Villa hosted the Greek giants on Thursday night in the first-leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final tie. But things quickly unravelled for the home side as they conceded two penalties to Ayoub El Kaabi in the first half.
Ollie Watkins managed to pull one back for the visitors on the stroke of half time before Moussa Diaby equalised moments after the interval. Yet Olympiakos hit back again with another El Kaabi penalty, before Santiago Hezze’s deflected strike sealed a famous victory at Villa Park.
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Emery, who has won four European cups, could not believe his eyes on the touchline. His side, having been favourites to reach the final, missed a late penalty courtesy of Douglas Luiz, leaving them with a monumental task in the second leg in Piraeus next week.
And the Spaniard’s frustrations were clear to see during a break in play after Villa had conceded their second. He furiously marched onto the pitch to deliver a dressing down to his players in a manner not seen since Phil Brown’s infamous Hull City team talk.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
(Image: PA)
He gesticulated intensely in front of Luiz’s face and appeared to be seething as he addressed his players one by one. At one point, Emery stood with his legs wide apart with a manic facial expression while delivering his intense team talk.
The start of the second half was then delayed after a supporter suffered a cardiac arrest. The additional stoppage was only a brief one, with the incident seemingly starting just before or shortly into the half-time break.
(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Villa will turn their attention to Brighton away in the Premier League on Sunday. Victory at the Amex would all but seal Champions League qualification for the Villans.
However, they will still be desperate to turn things around in Greece in an effort to land their first major trophy since 1996, when they beat Leeds United 3-0 to win the League Cup.