"I'm not the king of the Europa League," Unai Emery said the day before the final in Istanbul, and then 24 hours later he showed that, after all, I am.
The Spanish expert reached the trophy for the fifth time in his sixth final of this competition, and his Aston Villa brought back the somewhat forgotten European charm.
The 1982 European champion defeated Freiburg 3-0 in the Istanbul final. For a new European Cup after 44 years, and the first in any competition since 1996.
Freiburg lived a fairytale this season, but in the final they had no chance against a powerful rival from the Premier League, and so they still remain without a single significant trophy.
More precisely, he held on until the end of the first half when, after Euro goals by Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia, he could no longer recover - the Belgian caught a volley, and the Argentine masterfully placed it into the far corner.
The final was put to an end by the brilliant Morgan Rogers in the 58th minute when he did an excellent job at the near post.
Aston Villa celebrates the cup and goes to the Champions League (which it secured through the Premier League), and if it finishes the championship in fifth place, it will bring England another (sixth) place in the European elite.
The final is over - Aston Villa has the European trophy again, the giants from Birmingham won the Europa League with a victory over Freiburg (3:0).
Freiburg - Aston Villa 0:3
Thielemann 41, Buendia 45+3, Roger 58.
76 - A phenomenal move by Aston Villa, Emery's men walked into Freiburg's penalty area, and then Buendia missed a great chance.
73' - Finally something from Freiburg - Emiliano Martinez made a mistake after the throw-in, after which Max Rosenfelder tried, and the Argentine goalkeeper easily corrected the mistake.
58' - GOOOAL! Aston Villa are flying towards the cup, Morgan Rodgers has increased the lead to 3:0. The English midfielder did a great job at the near post after Buendia's cross.
54' - Freiburg tries, but Aston Villa had the first chance in the second half - Tielemans crossed for Watkins, but the ball was a bit faster for the English striker.
End of the first part - Aston Villa was a much better rival, Freiburg held on until the end of the half, and then it seemed to be cut short by a goal by Tielemans, and then another trick by Buendia.
Freiburg - Aston Villa 0:2, has the English giant already finished a large part of the work or will the nice club from Germany manage to pull off a miracle.
Prince William, a big fan of the Birmingham club, is currently enjoying his time in Istanbul.
45+3 - GOOOAL, another one for Aston Villa, another masterpiece - now Emiliano Buendia has scored.
Freiburg was left breathless in the finish, as if they could hardly wait for a break after the first half, but they did not survive another trick by Emery's team - Buendia brilliantly placed it into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area.
Villa looks like a much better team right now.
41' - GOOOAL, Youri Tielemans opened the scoring for Freiburg - Ollie Watkins crossed, and the Belgian caught the volley and checked Atubolu (0:1).
30' - No goals after half an hour in Istanbul, but it's very interesting in the stands, especially in the section where the Freiburg fans are.
So far, those who arrived from Birmingham have been somewhat calmer.
17' - Aston Villa entered the final a little better, but Freiburg is slowly waking up - Nikolas Hefler shot from 15 meters, but the ball ended up near the post.
3' - Aston Villa is the first to threaten - a dangerous shot from Rodgers, but Atubolu is one of the best German goalkeepers.
The final has begun, there's a great atmosphere in the stands...
There are also the lineups. Expected ones, except for the fact that Onana is not ready to start for the team from Birmingham.
Freiburg: Atubolu - Kubler, Günter, Leinhart, Treu - Egestein, Manzambi - Beste, Hefler, Grifo - Matanović.
Aston Villa: Martínez - Cash, Consa, Pau Torres, Dinje - Lindelof, Tielemann - McGinn, Rodgers, Buendy - Watkin.
Read the announcement of today's final...
Freiburg or Aston Villa - the German team could win its first trophy in history, the English team could win its first European title since the golden one in 1982, when they were champions of the Old Continent.
It's time for the Europa League final - the two teams that have shown the most this season in the second-highest quality European competition will clash at 21 p.m. at Besiktas Park in Istanbul.
The match on the Bosphorus kicks off the final round of European competitions, as the Conference League final will be played next Wednesday, followed by the Champions League final on Saturday.
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