Aston Villa are Europa League champions after thrashing Freiburg 3-0 in the final in Istanbul.
The king of the competition Unai Emery has his hands on the trophy for a fifth time and this triumph was celebrated wildly by Villa fans – both in the Besiktas Stadium and back at home.
Those supporters had waited 44 years to see their side in another European final and the beautiful, brilliant first-half goals from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia were befitting of the occasion.
Tielemans’ volley from Morgan Rogers’ cross into the box was a stunner, arrowed into the bottom corner with textbook technique. Buendia’s bending effort from the edge of the box just moments later was sweet, too, curling into the top corner.
Freiburg didn’t know what had hit them. There had barely been a chance in the preceding 41 minutes. When Morgan Rogers slid in a Buendia cross at the near post on 58 minutes it was all but over. A masterclass from Villa and Emery. The Bundesliga side blown away.
There should have been more goals. Amadou Onana headed John McGinn’s corner against the back post and then Buendia clipped the ball into the side-netting when Tielemans’ perfect pass played him in.
But Villa’s dominance was never in doubt after they hit the front. Captain John McGinn ran the midfield and Freiburg rarely threatened. Even when Johan Manzambi did meet a close-range header, Emi Martinez matched it with a stunning stop before the offside flag went up.
What a season for Aston Villa. A European trophy to go with a guaranteed top-five finish in the Premier League which has already secured Champions League football for next year.
Emery is crowned again in the competition he has mastered – and his meticulous transformation of Aston Villa over the past three-and-a-half years gloriously demonstrated on the big stage.
More to follow…
What next for Aston Villa?
Aston Villa take on Manchester City at the Etihad on the final day of the Premier League season, live on Sky Sports.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
