Unai Emery’s Aston Villa achieved a long-awaited trophy goal by winning the Europa League in Istanbul. Villa defeated Freiburg 3-0, with John McGinn lifting the trophy after goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia, and Morgan Rogers. Tielemans scored with a spectacular volley following a short corner routine, while Buendia added a curler into the top corner to put Villa in control. Rogers sealed the victory with a third goal as substitutes celebrated and Emery leapt onto the touchline. The win added another major silverware moment for Villa, matching Emery’s record of multiple Europa League titles and extending the club’s European legacy.
"Unai Emery delivered on his promise. Three-and-a-half years ago he walked into Villa Park and vowed he had joined Aston Villa to win trophies. On Wednesday in Istanbul, he achieved it. Skipper John McGinn lifted the Europa League trophy after a 3-0 victory over Freiburg to etch Villa's name into the history books again. In front of nine of the 1982 European Cup heroes - including captain Dennis Mortimer and goalscorer Peter Withe - Villa wrote themselves another momentous chapter."
"Spectacular strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia sent them on their way, with Morgan Rogers sealing victory. This time they still played in white and beat a German team in red. Instead of Bayern Munich, it was Freiburg. Instead of Rotterdam, it was Istanbul. For Withe it was Tielemans, Buendia and Rogers as Emery clinched his fifth Europa League title."
"Emery's previous four were already a competition record and while he dismissed the suggestion he was a European king, he is a serial winner. Six finals, five wins with the latest cementing a legacy at Villa Park which will last decades. Villa officials were nervous talking about the trophy parade in advance, which needed to be organised ahead of time given the disruption in Birmingham, but the squad will flaunt it in the city on Thursday afternoon."
"If Tielemans' volley - rounding off a short corner routine - gave them the platform then Buendia's curler into the top corner put one hand on the trophy. Former Villa midfielder Ian Taylor, a fan of the club who scored in the 1996 League Cup win - the last time Villa won major silverware, leapt out of his press box chair and punched the air. Rogers' third had the substitutes celebrating on the pitch and an airborne Emery leaping on the touchline with clenched fists. Victory was assured."
Read at www.bbc.com
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