Aston Villa Crush Freiburg to Claim First European Trophy in 44 Years and Maiden Europa League Crown

Istanbul: Aston Villa claimed their first European trophy in 44 years and a maiden UEFA Europa League title as goals from Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers sealed an emphatic win against Freiburg.

Villa have become the 31st different winners of the UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the sixth from England. They are the third new victors in the last six seasons, along with Atalanta in 2023/24 and Emery’s Villarreal in 2020/21.

Emery has become the first coach to win this tournament with three different teams. They all have ‘villa’ in their name: Sevilla (three times), Villarreal and Villa.

Coming into this showpiece, Freiburg were dreaming of winning a first major title in the club’s history, while Villa were seeking their first silverware in 30 years.

Given the high stakes, it was perhaps not surprising that the game took a while to settle down in front of a vibrant atmosphere at the spectacular Besiktas Park, with both teams displaying early signs of nerves.

After a series of half-chances came and went for both sides, it took a moment of magic to spark the game into life provided by Villa’s midfield maestro Youri Tielemans.

After 42 minutes, the Belgian latched onto a pinpoint cross from Morgan Rogers from a short corner to power a superb volley past goalkeeper Noah Atubolu and give the English side the lead.

Freiburg were rocked, and just before the break things got worse. There looked to be little danger when Emiliano Buendía received the ball from just outside the box, but the Argentinian forward shifted the ball onto his left foot and bent a stunning effort into the far corner to double the lead with the last kick of the half.

The confidence was flowing through Villa in the second period, and Buendía worked his magic again for their third just before the hour, jinking his way down the left wing before crossing for Rogers to apply a simple finish at the near post.

It was millimetres away from being four for Unai Emery’s side as Amadou Onana headed against the post from John McGinn’s corner, and that was the end of the action as Villa settled for three.

Freiburg put in a valiant effort but ultimately fell short. They will hope to bounce back on the European stage when they participate in the Conference League play-offs next season. IANS

Europa League Winners

(since 2000):

2000 - Galatasaray

2001 - Liverpool

2002 - Feyenoord

2003 - Porto

2004 - Valencia

2005 - CSKA Moscow

2006 - Sevilla

2007 - Sevilla

2008 - Zenit Saint Petersburg

2009 - Shakhtar Donetsk

2010 - Atlético Madrid

2011 - Porto

2012 - Atlético Madrid

2013 - Chelsea

2014 - Sevilla

2015 - Sevilla

2016 - Sevilla

2017 - Manchester United

2018 - Atlético Madrid

2019 - Chelsea

2020 - Sevilla

2021 - Villarreal

2022 - Eintracht Frankfurt

2023 - Sevilla

2024 - Atalanta

2025 - Tottenham Hotspur

2026 - Aston Villa

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