Aston Villa outclassed Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final, ending a 30-year wait for silverware and earning their coach Unai Emery a record-extending fifth win in the competition.
Villa took the lead in the 41st minute with a superb strike from Youri 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 Emiliano 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.
Morgan 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.
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 said. “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.”
Freiburg were hoping to win their first major silverware in their 122-year-old history but rarely threatened the Villa goal.
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.
