Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia scored stunning goals as Aston Villa outclassed Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday to end a 30-year wait for silverware and earn their coach Unai Emery a record-extending fifth win in the competition.
Morgan Rogers added a third as Aston Villa secured a first major trophy since they lifted the English League Cup in 1996, and their first victory in continental competition since they were European Cup champions in 1982 after defeating Bayern Munich in the final .
Back-to-back wins in the Europa League for Premier League clubs after Tottenham Hotspur were victors last season kept alive a rare continental hat-trick with Arsenal in the final of the Champions League and Crystal Palace to play in the Conference League decider.
“I feel amazing,” Tielemans told TNT. “We put in a shift, top performance, we had a great season, and to top it off with this, it’s amazing.
“We only had one day to practise, we did it on Monday, and it worked brilliantly tonight.
“It’s been a season with a lot of ups and downs. We started so so bad, our standards were very very poor but the way we turned things around was great, credit to the players, credit to the staff, we just kept working, kept believing, and we got the win in the end, Champions League next season and a trophy.”
Villa took the lead on 41 minutes with a superb strike from Tielemans after Rogers’ floated cross from a short corner was latched onto by the unmarked Belgian and his low volley arrowed into the net.
It was 2-0 seconds before halftime through another stunning goal, this time from Buendia. Freiburg allowed Villa too much space on the edge of their box and the Argentine playmaker curled a left-foot shot into the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Noah Atubolu with no chance.
Rogers added the third on 58 minutes when Buendia turned provider as his low cross into the six-yard box from the left was stabbed home at the near post.
Villa manager Emery kept up his remarkable record in the competition with a fifth victory, three with Sevilla, one with Villarreal and now with the English Villa.
Emery moved level with record-holders Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Giovanni Trapattoni on five European trophies.
Freiburg were hoping to win their first major silverware in their 122-year-old history but rarely threatened the Villa goal.
“The team believed until the end, but we faced an Aston Villa (side) with a lot of class. We are very proud of what we have achieved,” Freiburg winger Vincenzo Grifo said.
“We wanted to win this cup. Unfortunately we didn’t make it and this must be accepted. If you give space to players like Tielemans and Buendia … they made perfect shots. The first goal gave Aston Villa strength.”
