Aston Villa Win Europa League To End 30-Year Wait As Unai Emery Makes History With...

Last Updated:May 21, 2026, 07:23 IST

Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul, ending a 30 year trophy wait, as Unai Emery wins his fifth Europa League title.

Aston Villa produced one of the greatest nights in the club’s modern history as they defeated Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul, ending a 30-year wait for silverware and securing their first European trophy since 1982.

Guided by Unai Emery, Villa delivered a dominant performance powered by stunning goals from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia, before Morgan Rogers sealed the victory in the second half.

Historic For Emery And Villa

The triumph marked Aston Villa’s first major trophy since the 1996 League Cup and completed a remarkable transformation under Emery, who took charge in 2022 when the club was hovering just above the relegation zone in the Premier League.

Unai Emery maintained his extraordinary record in the competition with a fifth Europa League title — three with Sevilla, one with Villarreal and now one with Villa. He moved level with record-holders Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Giovanni Trapattoni on five European trophies.

Royal Celebration!

Emery said this week that he did not feel like the “king" of the Europa League, but his team’s coronation received a royal seal of approval from Villa fan Prince William, who celebrated along with around 20,000 ecstatic supporters in the Besiktas Stadium.

“Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club!" the Prince posted on X.

Villa’s breakthrough arrived in the 41st minute when Rogers floated a precise cross from a short corner and Tielemans fired a superb volley into the net. Buendia doubled the lead just before half-time with a brilliant curling strike from outside the box, leaving Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu helpless. Rogers then completed the scoring in the 58th minute, sliding in to convert Buendia’s low delivery.

“I feel amazing," Tielemans was quoted as saying to TNT. “We put in a shift, top performance, we had a great season, and to top it off with this, it’s amazing."

Reflecting on Villa’s difficult start to the campaign, he added: “It’s been a season with a lot of ups and downs. We started so, so bad, our standards were very, very poor, but the way we turned things around was great. Credit to the players, credit to the staff, we just kept working, kept believing, and we got the win in the end, Champions League next season and a trophy."

Freiburg, appearing in their first-ever European final, struggled to cope with Villa’s intensity and quality. “The team believed until the end, but we faced an Aston Villa side with a lot of class. We are very proud of what we have achieved," Freiburg winger Vincenzo Grifo said after the defeat.

Back-to-back Europa League wins for Premier League clubs, after Tottenham Hotspur’s triumph last season, kept alive a rare continental hat-trick, with Arsenal in the Champions League final and Crystal Palace set to play in the Conference League decider.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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