Aston Villa ended their wait for a first major trophy since 1996 as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the Europa League final.
Villa went into Wednesday’s Istanbul showpiece as the heavy favourites to claim the title against a Freiburg side playing in a European final for the first time.
And they emphatically vindicated that status, with two stunning first-half goals from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia putting Unai Emery’s men in command.
Morgan Rogers made it 3-0 with a close-range strike 13 minutes into a second half, enabling the Villa fans to start the celebration early, with Freiburg never looking producing a comeback to deny them their first piece of silverware since the 1996 EFL Cup win over Leeds United and a first continental title since the 1982 European Cup triumph against Bayern Munich.
For Emery, it is a fifth UEFA Cup/Europa League crown, with the competition’s most successful manager reuniting with the trophy he previously won back in 2021 with Villarreal.
Aston Villa end 30-year wait
Though Rogers tested goalkeeper Noah Atubolu early on, Villa found Freiburg stubborn opposition for much of the first half, and the Bundesliga side went close themselves when Nicolas Hofler fired narrowly wide after Villa failed to clear a free-kick.
But a wonderfully worked set-piece from Villa proved the catalyst for Freiburg’s hopes falling apart as Tielemans rifled Villa into a 41st-minute lead.
Rogers lofted a perfectly weighted ball in from the left, and Tielemans met in with a vicious volley that flew into the bottom-left corner.
Seven minutes later Villa were in complete command following a stunning final kick of the first half from Buendia.
Left in far too much space on the right as Freiburg struggled to clear their lines, Buendia cut onto his weaker left foot and curled an unstoppable strike beyond the helpless Atubolu.
Villa’s third was less spectacular, but Rogers displayed superb goalscoring instincts to cut in front of his defender at the near post and flick home Buendia’s low ball in from the left.
Amadou Onana went close to making the scoreline even more emphatic when the substitute hit the outside of the post with a header, and Buendia was guilty of being far too casual with his finish as he somehow fired into the side-netting after being played in by Tielemans’ superb pass.
Yet was a mere footnote on an outstanding night for Villa, who rounded off a tremendous season that had already seen them secure Champions League football by ending three decades of pain for their joyous travelling supporters.
