In front of the future king of England, Unai Emery reaffirmed his status as the king of the Europa League. Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul on Wednesday to secure Emery a record-extending fifth title in this competition.
Celebrating wildly inside the Tupras Stadium was lifelong Villa fan Prince William, who traveled to watch his beloved team end a 30-year wait for a major trophy. He had his phone out taking photos as captain John McGinn lifted the cup in the center of the field in front of an explosion of confetti.
"We had a great season and to top it off with this is amazing," goal-scorer Youri Tielemans told TNT Sports.
Was the outcome ever in doubt with the ultimate Europa League specialist Emery on the sideline? The Spanish coach has enjoyed remarkable success in Europe's second-tier competition, winning it three years running with Sevilla from 2014-16 and again with Villarreal in 2021. Now he has led a third team with 'Villa' in its name to the title.
"Normally sometimes in the league games he's a little bit anxious because obviously he wants us to win, but today he was really calm and I think that set the tone for us boys," striker Ollie Watkins said.
Two brilliant first-half strikes from Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put Villa into a 2-0 lead at the break. Morgan Rogers added a third in the second half.
It was Villa's first major piece of silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996 and its first continental title since lifting the European Cup and then the Super Cup in 1982.
German team Freiburg, which was playing in the second division 10 years ago, was outclassed in its first European final. Villa was in England's second tier even more recently, in 2019. While it was the overwhelming favorite going into Wednesday's match, occasions like this looked a long way off when Emery was hired in 2022. Back then, Villa was one place above the relegation zone and in danger of going down again.
The transformation he has overseen has been remarkable — leading the team into the Champions League last season and qualifying for European club soccer's top competition again next term.
