Aston Villa and Freiburg won the right to fight for the trophy in the Europa League on May 20 at Besiktas Park in Istanbul, after beating Nottingham Forest (4-0) and Portugal’s Braga (3-1) in the semi-final second leg, making up for the goal deficit from the first two matches.
Spanish expert Unai Emery, the head coach of Aston Villa, will thus have the opportunity to win the cup for the fifth time in this competition, with a third different club. He won the Europa League three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.
His team completely “dismantled” the visitors from Nottingham at Villa Park, and the home team made up for the deficit from the first game (0-1) in the 36th minute, when Ollie Watkins assisted by Emiliano Buendia sent the ball into the net.
Aston Villa had the necessary 2-0 in the 58th minute, after Buendia realized a penalty kick, which was awarded after Pau Torres was brought down in the penalty area, and referee Glenn Nyberg reviewed the video at the suggestion of the VAR room and pointed to the white dot.
He solved all the dilemmas about placing in the final John McGinn with two goals scored within three minutes. First, in the 77th minute, he brilliantly received a pass from Watkins and beat the visiting goalkeeper Ortega with a precise shot, and then in the 80th minute, he did it again with an assist from Morgan Rogers for the final 4-0.
In Freiburg, the home team’s job of catching up with Portugal (1-2) was made easier in the sixth minute, when Braga defender Mario Dorgeles, as the last man in the defense, brought down Jan Niklas Beste and earned a dismissal.
Freiburg already took advantage of the numerical advantage in the 19th minutewhen Lukas Kubler happily and deftly sent the ball into the net. The German team took a two-goal lead by halftime when Johan Manzambi beat the visiting goalkeeper Horniček with a great shot from more than 20 meters in the 41st minute.
Lukas Kubler deserved the title of player of the match when he headed the ball into the net in the 72nd minute after a cross from Grif and so Brought a three-goal advantage to Freiburg.
Braga was similarly given hope of a turnaround by Pau Victor with a goal in the 79th minute, but that was all the Portuguese side could do.
Croatian national team player Igor Matanović played the whole game for Freiburg at the top of the attack.
Aston Villa will try to become in Istanbul the fourth English club to win the Europa League since it has been played in this format since the 2009/2010 season. Chelsea was the winner in 2013 and 2019, Manchester United celebrated in 2017 and Tottenham Hotspur won the title last season.
Among the German clubs, the winner of the Europa League was only Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022.
Europa League, semi-finals – return legs
- Aston Villa – Nottingham Forest 4-0 (Watkins 36, Buendia 57-11m, McGinn 77, 80)
- (Aston Villa advanced to the final with 4-1 aggregate)
- Freiburg – Braga 3-1 (Kubler 19, 72, Manzambi 41 / Victor 79)
- (Freiburg advanced to the final with 4-3 on aggregate)
(Hina | Photo: X)
