Destroy Freiburg 3-0, Aston Villa European League Champion
Aston Villa ended a 44-year trophy drought in European competitions after beating Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final at Besiktas Park Stadium, Istanbul, Thursday, May 21, 2026 early morning WIB.
Villa once had success by winning the Champions Cup [now the Champions League] in 1982. At that time, Villa, who was in a non-elite status, made a surprise by knocking out the German Bundesliga elite team Bayern Munich 1-0. Villa's only winning goal was scored by Peter Withe, who had managed the Indonesian national team.
Withe coached the Merah Putih team from 2004 to 2007. He brought Indonesia to the 2007 Asian Cup and competed in the 2004 AFF Cup final. He also led Villa to win the European Super Cup after defeating the winners of the Winners Cup Barcelona 1-0 and 3-0.
After achieving success in the Champions Cup and the European Super Cup, Villa never again succeeded in Europe. And, manager Unai Emery who ended the European title drought after bringing the Villans to the European League title, which he won by defeating the Bundesliga team, Freiburg.
The success of winning the second European cup has further confirmed Emery as a specialist in the Europa League. He has lifted the trophy five times with Sevilla and Villarreal. Now, Emery is bringing Villa to the Champions League next season.
The status as Europa League champions brings Villa a quota in Europe's highest-ranking competition and then appears in the UEFA Super Cup against the Champions League champion, Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal.
"I am very ambitious, but I also need support. Both from the club owner and anyone who works at the club. And most importantly, development must continue," said Emery as quoted by france24.
"The players are very supportive of me. And we do it together. As a team, we have ambitions and continue to grow. But to achieve the target, we also have to be realistic and clear," he said.
"With a team that continues to grow, we are getting stronger and we are trying to meet the target. Next season, we are playing in the Champions League. We also face the most difficult English Premier League competition among other leagues. This is obviously a big challenge," said Emery again.
In the final match, Villa showed dominance over Freiburg. They immediately pressed the opponent's defense. However, Villa had to wait until the 41st minute when Youri Tielemans successfully broke Freiburg's goal.
The 1-0 advantage made Villa more aggressive in attacking. Their efforts also yielded results when Emiliano Buendia consolidated Villa's lead to 2-0 in the first half injury time.
Buendia's goal made the Villa players more confident when entering the second half. On the other hand, Freiburg has difficulty keeping up with Villa's game.
Moreover, Villa was finally able to increase the lead when Morgan Rogers scored in the 58th minute. The goal that killed Freiburg. It proved that they no longer had the power to chase the goal deficit.
The score of 3-0 for Villa lasted until the end of the match. Villa also won the first trophy since 1996 when winning the English League Cup or Carabao Cup.