Unai Emery delivered on his promise.

Three and a half years ago, he walked into Villa Park and vowed to win trophies with Aston Villa. On Wednesday, in Istanbul, he achieved his goal. The Europa League trophy was lifted by skipper John McGinn after a 3-0 victory over Freiburg, etching Villa’s name into the history books once more. In front of nine of the 1982 European Cup heroes, including captain Dennis Mortimer and goalscorer Peter Withe, Villa wrote another momentous chapter.

Spectacular Strikes and Serial Winners

Spectacular strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia set the tone, with Morgan Rogers sealing the victory. This time, they played in white and beat a German team in red. Instead of Bayern Munich, it was Freiburg, and instead of Rotterdam, it was Istanbul. Emery clinched his fifth Europa League title, a competition record. He dismissed the suggestion he was a European king but acknowledged his legacy at Villa Park will last for decades.

The Path to Victory

Tielemans’ volley from a short corner routine gave Villa the platform, while Buendia’s curler into the top corner put one hand on the trophy. Former Villa midfielder Ian Taylor, who scored in the 1996 League Cup win, leaped out of his press box chair and punched the air. Rogers’ third had the substitutes celebrating on the pitch and an airborne Emery jumping on the touchline with clenched fists. Victory was assured.

“I feel amazing,” Tielemans told TNT. “My voice is a bit gone but it’s all good. We put in a shift, a top performance, we had a great season. To top it off with this is amazing. It’s been a season with a lot of ups and downs. We started so so bad. Our standards were very poor. The way we turned things around was a credit to the players and staff. We kept working, believing. We got the win in the end, Champions League next season and a trophy.”

Villa’s official ticket allocation was 10,758, but 20,000 traveled to Turkey, clearly outnumbering Freiburg’s following and filling the bars and cafes off Istanbul’s famous Taksim Square. Among the supporters in the stadium was Prince William, who had already sent a message of good luck on social media and watched as Emery secured the victory.