Key stats
- Aston Villa have scored in 14 of their 15 Europa League games, more often than any other team in the UEFA Europa League.
- Aston Villa have kept a clean sheet in 9 of their 15 games, more than any other team in the UEFA Europa League.
- Emiliano Buendía has assisted six goals in this season's Europa League (including one in this game) - no player has more.
Highlights
Analysis
Aston Villa had an early stranglehold on the game, and were rewarded with two goals at the end of the first half.
Match report
Donning an all-white kit – as a tribute to the heroes of the 1982 European Cup triumph – Villa required just two minutes to register the final’s first shot on target, with Morgan Rogers’ driven effort forcing Noah Atubolu into a strong save earlier than he would have wanted in Freiburg’s first-ever appearance in a European final.
Nicolas Höfler was soon presented with Freiburg’s first meaningful chance, only to drag his left-foot strike harmlessly wide of Emiliano Martínez’s goal.
As the half neared its conclusion, Villa flexed their muscles with devastating effect, netting two goals in seven minutes, beginning with a well-worked corner routine straight off the training ground.
Rogers collected a short corner as the Villa contingent in the box blocked their markers to create the space for Youri Tielemans to meet a floated delivery with a technically-perfect low volley past Atubolu.
The Belgian’s sumptuous strike soon paled in comparison to the unstoppable effort Emiliano Buendía conjured up in first-half stoppage time, quickly turning on the edge of the box before curling the ball with pace into the far corner, sparking scenes of sheer jubilation at the opposite end of the stadium.
If the German side’s European dreams were not crushed before the break, they most certainly were when Rogers took Villa’s tally to three just before the hour mark, darting across his defender to poke the ball in from Buendía’s low cross.
Rogers’ third Europa League goal sparked Julian Schuster into a double change, but it was far too late as the Villans threatened to add a fourth through Buendía and then John McGinn.
Freiburg at least managed to keep the damage down to three, but that mattered little to the Villa faithful, who celebrated adding major silverware to their top-five Premier League finish, representing Unai Emery’s fifth Europa League triumph.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa)
Post-match comments
Aston Villa's goal-scorer Youri Tielemans had all but lost his voice amid the celebrations of his side's long-awaited victory.
"I feel amazing," he told TNT Sports. "My voice is a bit gone but it's all good.
"We put in a shift, top performance - we had a great season. To top it off with this, it's 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.
"The fans have been amazing. All game long we could only hear them. Credit to them. Up the Villa!"
Morgan Rogers, another one of Villa's goal-scorers, said the current crop of players will "go down in history" following tonight's victory.
"It's hard to put into words, we've worked so hard for this," he told TNT Sports.
"We've delivered and come through. It's a great moment for the fans, great for the club. We'll go down in history.
"There was so much excitement. The manager has been banging on at me to get easier goals and get into the box. I'm happy I could get a toe onto it and score.
"I'm tired but not that tired. It's all worth it in the end."