Aston Villa enjoyed a stellar evening as they defeated Freiburg 3-0 in a one-sided Europa League Final to end a 44-year continental drought on Wednesday (May 20).
Playing against Freiburg in Istanbul, Aston Villa took a 2-0 lead at the break before a third goal in the second half to seal a memorable win. The win was the club's first continental triumph since beating Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup final.
Aston Villa lift Europa League
Youri Tielemans opened the scoring for Aston Villa after 41 minutes, striking home a crisp, low volley from a Morgan Rogers corner. The English side doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time when captain John McGinn won possession to set up Emiliano Buendia, who curled a stunning effort into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Rogers added a third in the 58th minute, poking home at the near post from a Buendia cross following a slick passing move to effectively seal the result and trigger early celebrations for Unai Emery's side.
The victory secured a major European trophy for Villa, evoking memories of their 1982 European Cup triumph and marking the club's first major silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996.
'It's hard to put into words, we've worked so hard for this.We'vedelivered and come through.It'sa great moment for the fans, great for the club.We'llgo down in history," Morgan Rogers, who netted Villa's third goal in the second half, said.
'It's amazing.It'sbeen a season with a lot ofups and downs. We started so, so bad. Our standards werevery poor.
'The way we turned things around wasa creditto the players and staff. We kept working, believing. We got the win in the end, Champions League next season and a trophy," Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans, who scored the opening goal, added.
'He was really calm today in the build-up. Sometimes in the league games, he's a little bit anxious because he wants us to win but today he was really calm and I think that set a tone for us," Striker Ollie Watkins on manager Unai Emery after the Spaniard won a record-extending fifth Europa League title as a coach said.