After a long awaited 43 years, Villa Park will see another European trophy within its stadium. With fans singing loud and proud, gathered around in the streets of Birmingham, as well as in Istanbul, as they beat SC Freiburg 3-0 to win the UEFA Europa League. It’s definitely a night to remember for all.
A campaign that started, with victory, at Villa Park and ended in the same way last night {Wednesday night}, in Turkey, Unai Emery’s men proved to be too strong for the Bundesliga side.
An opening goal from Youri Tielemans, in the 40th minute, kicked off Villa’s celebrations early, from the end of Morgan Roger’s corner, a routine fresh from the training ground {Bodymoor Heath}, giving fans the reassurance they desperately needed to put themselves at ease.
Photo courtesy of Aston Villa
Just seven minutes later, with only two minutes left until half time, Emi Buendia scored a superb goal, curled from the edge of the box, to bring it to 2-0 at half time.
Photo courtesy of Aston Villa
| SC Freiburg | Aston Villa | |
| 51% | Possession | 49% |
| 4 | Shots | 17 |
| 2 | Shots on Target | 6 |
| 1 | Corners | 8 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
Villa’s success then continued 57 minutes into the second half, when Buendia set up a cross, landing perfectly between Rogers and the goal, for him to tap it in to seal Villa’s victory, etching their names into Aston Villa history.
Photo courtesy of Aston Villa
With many Villa chances still made in the final half an hour by Rogers, Watkins, Tielemans and Buendia, Freiburg also had chances, Villa still managed to keep a clean sheet, making the win even more special.
John McGinn also wanted his name on the scoresheet, having a chance that made the Freiburg keeper come to a near-post stop.
The final whistle then confirmed what fans already knew, their side had won the Europa League, earning the club a second European trophy on the continent 43 years on from the last.
Photo courtesy of Aston Villa
After the match, Unai Emery said he was “thankful for the owners, the club, the workers, and especially the supporters.”
“The supporters were travelling with us all the season, away in Europe, 3,000 – 4,000. In all the countries we were playing, they were there, and of course, especially, important in Villa Park, how we were creating a great atmosphere, positive energy and today here, we were feeling we were in Villa Park. And the supporters, of course, they deserved it after 1982.”
Ollie Watkins shared his joy on the experience, stating “it’s an unbelievable experience. Look at this, it’s what you dream of.”
“Sometimes you have ups and downs, but we pulled through in the end. We pushed on, got Champions League football, and now this. So special, all these fans. Incredible.”
Matty Cash also spoke up on the win, saying “it’s something that will stay with you forever, you know, winning a medal and a cup. Bringing it back to Villa Park, that parade.”
Villa continued their celebrations into Thursday {today}, having an open-top bus victory parade through Birmingham, beginning on Branston Street, in the Jewellery Quarter at roughly 4:30pm and covering a route of approximately 4.5km, going through Sand Pits, Broad Street and Centenary Square, lasting between 60-90 minutes.
Lineups:
Freiburg: Noah Atubolu, Lucas Kubler {Makengo 73′}, Matthias Ginter, Philipp Lienhart {Rosenfelder 61′}, Philipp Treu, Maximilian Eggestein, Nicolas Holfer {Holer 61′}, Jan-Niklas Holfer {Gunten 86′}, Johan Grifo {Scherhant 73′}, Igor Matanovic.
Subs: Anthony Jung, Patrick Osterhage, Derry Scherhant, Lucas Holer, Florian Muller, Cryiaque Irie, Jannick Huth, Maximillian Philipp, Christian Gunter, Jordy Makengo, Max Rosenfelder, Bruno Ogbus.
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres {Mings 88′}, Lucas Digne {Maatsen 81′}, Victor Lindelof {Onana 66′}, Youri Tielemans {Douglas Luiz 88′}, John McGinn, Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Buendia {Sancho 81′}, Ollie Watkins.
Subs: Tyrone Mings, Harvey Elliot, Andres Garcia, Tammy Abraham, Jadon Sancho, Douglas Luiz, Ian Maatsen, Lamare Bogarde, Leon Bailey, Marco Bizot, James Wright.