Aston Villa cruised to a 3-0 victory over Freiburg to lift the Europa League trophy on Wednesday, dismantling its German opponent with a clinical attacking display that never left the outcome in doubt.
Youri Tielemans opened the scoring for Aston Villa after 41 minutes, striking home a crisp low volley from a Morgan Rogers corner. The English side doubled its lead in first-half stoppage time when captain John McGinn won possession to set up Emiliano Buendia, who curled a stunning effort into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Rogers added a third in the 58th minute, poking home at the near post from a Buendia cross following a slick passing move to effectively seal the result and trigger early celebrations for Unai Emery’s side.
The victory secured a major European trophy for Villa, evoking memories of their 1982 European Cup triumph and marking the club’s first major silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996.
Freiburg vs Aston Villa player ratings:
SC Freiburg: Noah Atubolu (5.9/10), Lukas Kübler (6.1/10), Matthias Ginter (6.4/10), Philipp Lienhart (5.8/10), Philipp Treu (5.4/10), Maximilian Eggestein (5.9/10), Nicolas Höfler (6.0/10), Johan Manzambi (6.7/10), Vincenzo Grifo (6.1/10), Jan-Niklas Beste (6.3/10), Igor Matanović (5.7/10)
Subs: Max Rosenfelder (6.2/10), Lucas Höler (5.9/10), Derry Scherhant (6.0/10), Jordy Makengo (6.1/10), Christian Günter (6.0/10)
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martínez (7.4/10), Matty Cash (7.0/10), Ezri Konsa (7.6/10), Pau Torres (7.5/10), Lucas Digne (7.7/10), Victor Lindelöf (7.2/10), Youri Tielemans (8.6/10), John McGinn (8.2/10), Morgan Rogers (8.8/10), Emiliano Buendía (8.9/10), Ollie Watkins (6.5/10)
Subs: Amadou Onana (6.9/10), Ian Maatsen (6.2/10), Jadon Sancho (6.3/10), Tyrone Mings (6.0/10), Douglas Luiz (6.0/10)
Published on May 21, 2026