In front of the future king of England, Unai Emery reaffirmed his status as the king of the Europa League.
Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul on Wednesday to secure Emery a record-extending fifth title in this competition.
In front of the future king of England, Unai Emery reaffirmed his status as the king of the Europa League.
Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul on Wednesday to secure Emery a record-extending fifth title in this competition.
Celebrating wildly inside the Tupras Stadium was lifelong Villa fan Prince William, who traveled to watch his beloved team end a 30-year wait for a major trophy.
He had his phone out taking photos as captain John McGinn lifted the cup in the center of the field and in front of an explosion of confetti.
“We had a great season and to top it off with this is amazing,” goal-scorer Youri Tielemans told TNT Sports.
Was the outcome ever in doubt with the ultimate Europa League specialist Emery on the sideline?
The Spanish coach has enjoyed remarkable success in Europe's second-tier competition, winning it three years running with Sevilla from 2014-16 and again with Villarreal in 2021.
Now he has led a third team with ‘Villa’ in its name to the title.
“Normally sometimes in the league games he’s a little bit anxious because obviously he wants us to win, but today he was really calm and I think that set the tone for us boys,” striker Ollie Watkins said.
Two brilliant first-half strikes from Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put Villa into a 2-0 lead at the break. Morgan Rogers added a third in the second half.
It was Villa's first major piece of silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996 and its first continental title since lifting the European Cup and then the Super Cup in 1982.
German team Freiburg, which was playing in the second division 10 years ago, was outclassed in its first European final.
Villa was in England's second tier even more recently, in 2019. And while it was the overwhelming favorite going into Wednesday's match, occasions like this looked a long way off when Emery was hired in 2022.
Back then, Villa was one place above the relegation zone and in danger of going down again.
The transformation he has overseen has been remarkable — leading the team into the Champions League last season and qualifying for European club soccer's top competition again next term.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
TDJSubscriber765243 said:
TDJSubscriber765243 said:
[thumbup]
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.