Ayoub El Kaabi: How Conference League hero surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo's European record

Ayoub El Kaabi was Olympiacos’ hero in Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina.

The Moroccan notched a 116th-minute winning goal to stun the Italian side and carry the Greeks to their first-ever European title. It is also the first time a Greek club has triumphed in European competition. 

The 30-year-old's effort is the latest strike to decide a European final since Diego Forlan's heroics for Atletico Madrid against Fulham in 2010's Europa League. 

Wednesday night saw the Moroccan end this season with 14 goals in European club competitions — three in the Europa League group stage and 11 in the Conference League knockouts. 

El Kaabi’s 14 continental strikes may have seen him fall short of Robert Lewandowski (19/20), Radamel Falcao (10/11) and Cristiano Ronaldo (17/18, 15/16 and 13/14). However, his knockout goals for Olympiacos following their Europa League exit take him one clear of Ronaldo's 10 in the 2016-17 Champions League. 

While Karim Benzema (2022) and Radamel Falcao (2010 Europa League) also netted 10 goals in the knockout goals in European club competition, El Kaabi's winning effort against Fiorentina means he becomes the standalone holder of that record.