Unai Emery proved to be the "king of the Europa League." Aston Villa lifted a European competition trophy for the first time in 44 years.
Aston Villa defeated Freiburg 3-0 in the 2025-2026 UEFA Europa League (UEL) final held at Türbadaş Stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, on the 21st (Korea time). It is the club's first title in the tournament.
Emery's Villa deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendía-Morgan Rogers-John McGinn, Youri Tielemans-Victor Lindelöf, Lucas Digne-Pau Torres-Ezri Konsa-Matt Targett, Emiliano Martínez started.
Freiburg, coached by Julian Schuster, also lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Igor Matanović, Vincenzo Grifo-Johan Manzambi-Yanniklas Vester, Nicolas Höfler-Maximilian Eggestein, Philipp Tschoi-Philipp Lienhart-Matthias Ginter-Lukas Kübler, Noah Atubolu made up the starting lineup.
Villa pressed from the start. In the 3rd minute of the first half, Rogers received Tielemans' pass and shot, but the goalkeeper saved it. In the 9th minute of the first half, Rogers curled a right-footed shot toward goal but it drifted slightly wide to the right. Freiburg responded in the 17th minute of the first half with Höfler's shot from a set piece, but it lacked accuracy.
Villa opened the scoring. In the 41st minute of the first half from a corner kick situation, Digne played a short pass. Rogers crossed immediately, and Tielemans finished with a clever right-footed volley to find the net.
Villa moved two goals clear. In the 3 minutes of first-half stoppage time, McGinn fed Buendía on the right. Buendía, who controlled the ball near the box, curled a fantastic left-footed shot into the corner to make it 2-0. The first half ended that way.
The third goal of the match also belonged to Villa. In the 13th minute of the second half, Buendía received the ball on the left side of the box and delivered a low, fast cross into the penalty area. The ball deflected slightly off a defender, but Rogers, rushing in, pushed it in to make it the killer goal.
Trailing 0-3, Freiburg made changes in the 16th minute of the second half, bringing on Max Rosenfelder and Lukas Höller for Lienhart and Höfler. Villa injected energy into midfield in the 21st minute of the second half by replacing Lindelöf with Amadou Onana.
Villa almost scored again. In the 25th minute of the second half from a corner attack, Onana nodded onto McGinn's cross but hit the post. In the 30th minute of the second half, Buendía received Tielemans' through pass and had a great chance, but his shot drifted slightly wide to the left.
But there was no question about the victory. Villa brought on Tyrone Mings, Jadon Sancho, Ian Maatsen, Douglas Luiz and others late in the game and never gave up the momentum, finishing the match without conceding. The game ended as a 3-0 rout for Villa.
With this, Villa tasted the joy of reaching the top of European competition for the first time in 44 years. At the same time, Emery achieved his fifth UEL title overall. Having won three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, he said before the match "I am not the king of this competition. I have to win with Villa," but once again lifted the trophy and proved his worth as king.
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), Villa social media.
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