Aston Villa reached the Europa League final with a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest, including two goals from John McGinn, in the second leg of their all-English semi-final on Wednesday for a 4-1 aggregate victory in pursuit of a first trophy in 30 years.
Villa will play Freiburg in Istanbul on May 20 after the German side beat Braga 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate.
Trailing 0-1 from the first leg, Unai Emery’s Villa team came out all guns blazing at a pulsating Villa Park and got the lead its dominance deserved in the 36th minute when Watkins tapped in following brilliant footwork from Emiliano Buendia.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Buendia got Villa’s second with a coolly-struck penalty after Nikola Milenkovic needlessly tugged Pau Torres’ shirt in the area.
Captain McGinn swept in carbon-copy goals in the 77th and 80th minutes to spark delirium amongst most of the 43,000 fans, including Villa-supporting Prince William.
Villa was European champion in 1982 and last won silverware when it lifted the League Cup in 1996. It will hope four-time Europa League winner Emery can add to his tally - for the first time with an English club.
Published on May 08, 2026