Key events
ET 14 minutes: André Horta spins into a small space on the left before finding El Kaabi in the box. Milenkovic clings to El Kaabi’s shoulder, ensuring the striker can’t get a shot in for a corner. Terracciano drops the kit from the sky.
ET 12 minutes: Nzola probes down the right but can’t find anyone in the middle with his low header. Meanwhile, here’s Antony T on the beaten semi-finalists: “Any Club Brugge fans feeling a bit antsy at the moment? I know that Villa fan is.”
ET 10 minutes: Biragi is booked for a cynical check on Rodiney. As a result of a free kick sent in from the right, El Kaabi helped it over the bar.
ET 8 minutes: Something about the aforementioned penalty call was that Olympiakos had a decent shout. Jovetić’s cross from the left fell safely into the hand of Martinez Cuarta. It was at close range and Martinez Cuarta’s hand wasn’t far from his body… but both distances were ambiguous enough to claim. It’s not clear and obvious, after all. But Fiorentina maybe there was no VAR on their side if it was awarded.
ET 6 min.: Jovetic crosses the edge of Fiorentina D, from left to right, before the arrow points to the lower right corner. Terracciano spins around the post and nothing comes of the resulting corner.
ET 4 minutes: Jovetic is awarded a penalty in over-enthusiastic fashion. Podens then almost got himself a second yellow. Finally, substitute goalkeeper Paschalakis received a yellow card for having his say from the bench.
ET 3 min.: El Kaabi chases down a speculative ball from the right but can’t do anything with it.
ET 2 min.: Fiorentina start extra time on front foot. The Greek side hasn’t sniffed much yet.
Fiorentina gets the first half of extra time. Olympiakos replaced Francisco Ortega with Quinney.
FINAL: Olympiakos 0-0 Fiorentina
11 minutes: It was a great start to this match. Both teams could have easily scored. This will certainly not end without a goal.
So yeah, sorry for tempting the football gods like that.
90 minutes +6: Free kick for Olympiakos on the midline. Andre Horta fires it long. Terracciano drops it from the sky on the edge of his box.
90 minutes +5: Nzola robbed David Carmo on the right flank but hit hard on the way in Olympiakos box and the Greek side clears their lines.
90 minutes +4: Both teams were clearly afraid of making that fatal mistake. Most of the fans were also worried about witnessing one. AEK Arena is so quiet, the tension is palpable.
90 minutes +3: Gonzalez crosses from the left. He has to find Folk in the middle, but sends the ball too close to Tsolakis, who weighs in.
90 minutes +1: Long shot to Fiorentina box. El Kaabi goes down with his head on the arm of Martinez Cuarta. He wants a penalty but never gets it.
90 minutes: Will have seven extra minutes.
89 minutes: Duncan bursts in from the right and strikes wildly from the best part of 30 yards.
88 minutes: It is a lot scrap. There’s still time for a football game to break out. “Re: 73 min That’s kind of Jovetic. I’m sure Fiorentina the fans also promised not to celebrate if he scored. Yes, Peter O. Here all week. Try dolmades.
86 minutes: Rodinei is sent into acres of space down the right by Podence’s sweet move but smashes his cross over the heads of everyone in the centre. Thirty minutes of extra time getting closer.
85 minutes: Dodo flew at Jovetic, who was about to pull away from him on the left flank. Free kick only, no yellow card. Andre Horta swings and El Kaabi heads right. Olympiakos getting closer and closer during these late exchanges.
83 minutes: Double roll of the dice from Fiorentinawith Bonaventura and Kwame replaced by Barak and Icone.
81 minutes: Fiorentina sent a corner to the right. Rushing. Whistle. Starting to feel like extra time is inevitable.
80 minutes: Andre Horta curls the free kick into the mixer. Ibora raises his eyebrows with his head to the upper left corner. Just wide. If that was the goal, the desperately stretching Terraciano was beaten all the way.
79 minutes: Rodiney dribbles down the right touchline and is tackled by Kwame, who goes into the book as a result. Free kick and chance for Olympiakos to charge the box.
77 minutes: The excitement from the reserves continues apace as Andre Horta enters for his Olympiakos teammate Cicinho.
75 minutes: Fiorentina replace Arthur with Alfred Duncan.
73 minutes: Jovetic is said to have vowed not to celebrate if he scores against his former club tonight. Yeah, well, let’s see how that plays out if he sends one into the top corner from 25 yards in the fifth minute of added time. Fair play to him if he kept his face after that.
72 minutes: Olympiakos replaced their captain Kostas Fortounis with the former Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic.
70 minutes: Nothing comes from the resulting angle. The thing is, while this was almost a crazy fluke, it was also a great missed opportunity. Another. Fiorentina they’ve made a habit of it all season, it seems.
69 minutes: Nzola runs down the right. The ball moved upfield to Dodo and further to Kwame, in space just inside the box on the left. Kwame fumbles comically, hitting the ball into the ground. It springs and almost flies over Tsolakis, who pulls away from the top left corner just in time. It would have been one of the most daring coincidences in grand final history.
67 minutes: Nerves are kicking in now, if the lack of moves involving back-to-back submissions is anything to go by.
65 minutes: A Fiorentina corner to the right. Arthur sends an outswinger into the box. Milenkovic rises highest and whistles a header down from ten yards. Another great chance comes and we’re still waiting for that opener.
64 minutes: Retsos continues to play, although he came off worse earlier in this clash with Belotti. The Fiorentina the guy has since been signed and is now sitting on the bench with a huge ice pack pressed to the top of his head so God knows how Retsos must be feeling right now.
63 minutes: Fortunis crosses chest high to the right. Podence traps and volleys… but the volley finds the nearby Dodo unlike the ball. Crash, well placed defense and Podence takes some time to recover from his shin sting.
61 minutes: Jese steals the ball from Bonaventura in the center circle. Illegally, as it turns out. Hezi catches the ball and thinks about going straight for the referee’s grid, but suddenly changes his mind, just in time, just before he gets himself into a world of trouble. In a split second, the red mist descended on Heze.
59 minutes: Fiorentina make the first change. Andrea Belotti is replaced by M’Bala Nzola, who has three goals to his name this campaign so far.
58 minutes: Cicinho made some space down the right but his low cross went behind El Kaabi in the middle. Neither goalkeeper was involved after the restart.
56 minutes: Retsos of the ball. Now he looks cleaner as he drives up the middle, then seconds later he gets involved in a couple of challenges down the right flank. Everything is fine for now, but he really didn’t look in good shape there.
54 minutes: Podenze makes his presence felt again on the left, winning a corner that proves fruitless. The game is still in development.
53 minutes: Well, that’s really weird. The Olympiakos The coach performed the internationally recognized substitution mime, waving to the bench as Retsos’ knees buckled slightly. But now the player insists on continuing. Back he comes. Certainly not for long. This does not look good for the physical therapist or any of the officials.
51 minutes: … but then Retsos goes back. He looks really groggy He stands up again, but is clearly shaken. He will play no further role.
50 minutes: Belotti is up again quickly enough. Retsos needs a little more time to get back on his feet, but luckily he is also cleared to move on. This second period has not yet quite begun.
48 minutes: Podence gets a gentle headbutt, but the referee’s waving continues. However, he wastes no time in whistling when Belotti and Retsos stick the nut on each other, accidentally but at high speed. Come on coaches.
47 minutes: Slow start to the half. Neither team seems in the mood to make any crazy commitments just yet.
Olympiakos starts the second half. No changes.
Part time mailbag, courtesy of Chris Paraskevas. “It’s a game of Homeric proportions for Kostas Fortunis: a potential career-defining 143 minutes (allowing for extra time, extra time and a few quick coffee and cigarette breaks). Fortunis was virtually the only bright spark for the national team in a disastrous decade before falling out of favor / retiring himself. Leading a Greek club to a first European trophy would mark a career that initially promised so much but never really reached great heights. PS. I’m still boiling Disgraceful 8-0 defeat by Newcastle. And as an AEK fan, this lot that can win in Agia Sofia really worries me. Rough morning.”
HALF TIME: Olympiakos 0-0 Fiorentina
Just long enough for Tsolakis to fumble a long ball on the edge of his own box – again – and that’s the end of one half of two halves. The first 20 minutes were much better than the next.
45 minutes: There will be one extra first minute.
43 minutes: Fortunis latches onto a loose ball down the inside right channel. From 25 yards, near the touchline, he attempts a first kick. Full marks for ambition if nothing else. Throw to Fiorentina.
42 minutes: Martinez Cuarta was booked for bumping into the back of Podense, who had fooled him, finishing with a nimble turn.
41 minutes: El Kaabi chases Podenze’s circular pass down the inside left channel and for a second looks likely to get there before Terraciano. But he doesn’t. The keeper clears and gets a header for his troubles. The attacker had a right to contest it and it is a foul, nothing more, nothing less. Fortunately, the keeper is good to go.
39 minutes: The initial free-kick was no good, but Bonaventura won the ball back on the left and crossed deep. Kwame rises at the far stick and nods back to Gonzalez, whose eyes light up six yards out. He flashes. There’s a good chance.
38 minutes: Belotti is knocked senseless to the ground by David Carmo, 25 yards out on the right. A chance for Fiorentina to line up on the edge of the Olympiakos box and wait for Biragi’s delivery.
37 minutes: Both teams are playing themselves right now. Fiorentina passing without probing, Olympiakos happy to sit back and let them go nowhere.
