Aston Villa vs Freiburg: Emery equals Mourinho as Villains claim first title in 30 years

Aston Villa claimed their first title since 1996 and their first European Cup since 1982 after dismissing Freiburg 3-0 to claim the 2025/26 Europa League crown.

The Premier League side enjoyed a dominant evening as goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia, and Morgan Rodgers earned Unai Emery his fifth Europa League crown, tying him with incoming Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho for their overall number of European titles.

Aston Villa made a fast start and nearly opened the scoring inside two minutes when Morgan Rogers forced a strong save from Noah Atubolu.

Freiburg, appearing in their first-ever European final, responded through Nicolas Höfler, but his effort drifted harmlessly wide of Emiliano Martínez’s goal.

Villa’s superiority eventually showed late in the first half with two goals in seven minutes. The opener came from a cleverly worked corner routine as Rogers collected a short corner before floating a delivery to Youri Tielemans, who fired a brilliant low volley past Atubolu.

Moments later, Emiliano Buendía doubled the lead with a stunning curling strike from the edge of the box in stoppage time, sending the Villa supporters into celebration.

Freiburg’s hopes disappeared shortly before the hour mark when Rogers scored Villa’s third, darting across his marker to finish from Buendía’s cross.

Villa continued to threaten through Buendía and John McGinn, while Freiburg struggled to respond despite changes from coach Julian Schuster. The victory secured major European silverware for Villa and marked a fifth Europa League triumph for manager Unai Emery.