On a storied night under the lights of Istanbul’s Besiktas Stadium, English side Aston Villa etched a new chapter into their 152-year history, ending a 30-year wait for major silverware with a ruthless 3-0 demolition of Germany’s Freiburg in the 2024 UEFA Europa League final.
The match, which felt like a coronation from the opening whistle, saw two moments of individual brilliance from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put the outcome out of reach before halftime, before a second-half strike from Morgan Rogers put the final seal on a historic triumph. This win marks Aston Villa’s first major trophy since the 1996 League Cup, and their first major European title since their legendary 1982 European Cup victory over Bayern Munich.
In a twist that echoed the club’s most iconic triumph, Emery’s side wore the same white kit they donned for that 1982 upset in Rotterdam, fittingly taking the pitch as 1982 heroes Peter Withe and Dennis Mortimer watched from the stands. In the 41st minute, Tielemans broke the deadlock with a thunderous volley: Rogers played a clever short corner, floating a pinpoint cross into the path of the Belgian, who timed his run to perfection and hammered a strike past Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu from just inside the 18-yard box. It was only Tielemans’ second goal of the entire season, and arguably his most important.
Before the halftime whistle could blow, Buendia doubled Villa’s lead with an even more sublime finish. Left unmarked on the edge of the area, the Argentine picked out the far top corner with a curling shot that left Atubolu with no chance, putting the German side – appearing in their first ever major European final – on the back foot for good. Rogers put the result beyond doubt in the 58th minute, sliding to convert Buendia’s cross and cap off a flawless team performance.
For manager Unai Emery, this victory adds another legendary entry to his already unparalleled Europa League resume. The Spanish tactician has now lifted the trophy five times, having previously won three consecutive titles with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016, and another with Villarreal in 2021. Despite Emery dismissing the label of “Europa League King” in pre-match comments, his tactical mastery once again proved unbeatable on the continental stage.
The historic win was celebrated by two of Aston Villa’s most famous supporters: Prince William, a lifelong Villa fan, was in attendance to join roughly 20,000 travelling ecstatic fans in the stands, while Hollywood A-lister Tom Hanks sent a pre-match good luck message to the squad ahead of kickoff.
This triumph caps a remarkable turnaround for a club that looked to be going nowhere just 18 months ago. When Emery took charge in October 2022, Villa sat just three points above the Premier League relegation zone, having endured decades of disappointment since the 1982 European Cup win, including two relegations to England’s second tier and four defeats in domestic cup finals. Even this season started in rocky fashion, with Villa opening the campaign with six winless matches, scoring just two goals in that dismal opening run.
But a first win of the season against Bologna in the Europa League sparked an incredible run: Villa notched 13 wins from 15 matches in the competition, culminating in Wednesday’s final victory, and last week secured qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League with a crucial win over Liverpool. The 1982 golden generation of Withe, Tony Morley, Mortimer and Nigel Spink stood alone in Villa’s history for more than four decades, but now the current crop of Tielemans, Buendia, John McGinn and Rogers have joined that elite group, banishing decades of painful memories on the banks of the Bosphorus.