John McGinn scored twice as Aston Villa routed Nottingham Forest 4-0 in the Europa League on Thursday to reach its first major European final in 44 years.
McGinn's second-half goals were almost identical left-footed shots from the edge of the area to cap a dominant display at Villa Park in the second leg of the all-English semifinal to the delight of roaring fans, including Prince William, who joined in singing “Sweet Caroline” after the final whistle.
Villa advanced 4-1 on aggregate and will face German club Freiburg in the May 20 final in Istanbul. Freiburg beat 10-man Braga 3-1 on Thursday to advance 4-3 on aggregate.
It's Villa's first major European final since it triumphed over Bayern Munich in the European Cup in 1982.
Villa coach Unai Emery has won the Europa League title four times — three with Sevilla and one with Villarreal.
Emiliano Buendía was involved in the opening two goals. The midfielder left behind several defenders on the left side of the area and sent a low cross for Ollie Watkins to tap in the opener in the 36th minute.
Watkins scored just minutes after he got his head bandaged from a cut sustained in a clash of heads with Forest defender Morato.
Buendía added the second goal from the penalty spot in the 58th minute. McGinn made it 3-0 on the night in the 77th and doubled his tally three minutes later.
“To win a trophy for this club, with its history, would be amazing,” Buendía told TNT Sports. “We know the fans really want this and we will fight. It’s a final, we need to prepare well.”
Freiburg overturned a 2-1 deficit from the opening leg.
Mario Dorgeles, who scored the winner for Braga last week in Portugal, was shown a straight red in the seventh minute after fouling Jan-Niklas Beste, who would have had only goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček to beat.
It took the Bundesliga team only 12 minutes for punish the visitors when Lukas Kübler scored the first of his two goals. A clearance attempt bounced off Kübler's knee and ended up in the net.
Before halftime, Johan Manzambi added the second for Freiburg with a curling shout from outside the area.
Kübler's second goal, in the 72nd minute, made it 3-0 on the night before Pau Víctor had a consolation goal for Braga.
It will be Freiburg's first European final.
In the third-tier Conference League, Crystal Palace advanced to its first European final by beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 in the semifinal second leg and 5-2 on aggregate.
That means English clubs will compete in all three European title matches. Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
Palace will play Rayo Vallecano in the May 27 final in Leipzig, Germany. The mid-table La Liga team beat Strasbourg 1-0 on Thursday and 2-0 overall.
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.
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Mark Simon said:
Thank you.
Mark Simon said:
So, no “Thank you for your column, Mr. Simon,” today, huh?
Mark Simon said:
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