Unai Emery and Aston Villa stormed to Europa League glory in Istanbul to write their names into club folklore.
Emery claimed his fifth Europa League title as a manger – and Villa’s first trophy in 30 years – on a historic night on the banks of the Bosphorus. A brace of stunning strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia, along with a third from Morgan Rogers saw Villa cruise into club folklore alongside the European Cup winners of 1982.
Villa supporters had jetted into Istanbul from as far afield as Thailand and Mexico to witness their club’s biggest game in more than four decades. And they were joined by royalty, in the shape of the future king of England. Not to mention nine members of the side which conquered Europe all those years ago.
No pressure then?
A record fifth Europa League crown was within Emery’s grasp. And the chance to write the name of himself and his players into Villa the annuls of Villa legends.
When he took charge of Villa in 2022, the Spaniard declared he had done so to win silverware. And this was his big chance to make good on his promise.
While Freiburg deserved respect for reaching the final, the German outfit hardly resembled fearsome opponents for such a prestige occasion. Not that Emery would have taken them lightly. This was a manager so dedicated to his craft, he had been watching footage of them while on his personal treadmill at the training ground.
But considering Emery had spent as much money on signings in his time at Villa as Freiburg had in their entire history, it wasn’t difficult to see why Villa were red hot favourites.
Even the omens were on Villa’s side. Just like in ’82, Villa were facing German opposition and were also wearing white. And Villa started at breakneck speed. Emery’s men looked capable of ripping through Freiburg at will, and Rogers went close twice in the opening 10 minutes.
View 3 ImagesYouri Tielemans put Aston Villa ahead with a volley(Image: Getty Images)
But as the half wore on Freiburg found a semblance of control, while Villa lost some of theirs. And referee Francois Letexier was dishing out more cards than a croupier, three inside the opening 20 minutes to be precise, to damage the flow of the game.
Nicolas Hofler pounced on a loose clearance, but dragged his shot wide when he should have done better. Before Johan Manzanbi tested Emi Martinez, after Tielemans had lost possession deep in his own half.
But Tielemans more than made up for his mistake by firing Villa ahead with a stunning strike on 42 minutes.
Rogers took a short corner, before picking out Tielemans, who’s instant volley gave Noah Atubolu no chance. A goal straight from the training ground – and one of the biggest of Tielemans’s career.
View 3 ImagesPrince William was on hand to celebrate Villa’s big win(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA)
And with Freiburg on the ropes, Buendia delivered what felt like the knockout punch moments later with another blistering effort to double Villa’s lead.
The Argentine took a ball on the turn from captain John McGinn, cut inside onto his left foot before curling a belter into the far corner from outside the penalty box.
It was literally the last kick of the half – and looked to have left Freiburg’s hopes of a first major trophy in tatters. Two goals in four magical minutes had also left Villa on the cusp of greatness.
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Ollie Watkins came within a whisker of adding a third, before Rogers did just that as Villa’s superior quality and class continued to destroy the Germans.
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