Unai Emery made a bold promise when he first stepped into Villa Park — he came to Aston Villa to win silverware. That ambition, voiced during his introductory press conference in November 2022, is now on the verge of becoming reality a little over three years later.
Amid a thunderous and jubilant atmosphere at Villa Park on Thursday, the club punched their ticket to the Europa League final with a commanding victory over Nottingham Forest. They will face Freiburg in Istanbul on May 20, and few would wager against Emery lifting a fifth Europa League trophy.
Victory would mark Aston Villa’s first major trophy in three decades and their first European crown in 44 years, putting them in the same conversation as the 1982 European Cup-winning side.
The legendary call of Peter Withe’s winner against Bayern Munich in Rotterdam is immortalized above the Doug Ellis Stand. In two weeks, Villa may need a new banner if they triumph in Turkey — a win that would also secure a return to the Champions League regardless of their Premier League top-five finish.
John McGinn’s late double capped a dominant display that left Forest overwhelmed. Manager Vitor Pereira had Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Murillo on the bench, but only Murillo saw action, and only for two minutes when the result was already decided. Even with those three fully fit, Forest would have struggled to contain a relentless Villa side that raised the tempo throughout.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring and Emi Buendía converted a penalty to give Villa the lead on the night and on aggregate. From that point, there was never any doubt. The performance even earned royal approval — Prince William, a regular at Villa Park, visited the dressing room after the match to offer his congratulations.
“They were so focused, they were aware about the momentum,” Emery said. “We planned emotionally beforehand and how we would play the match. It was the only match we’ve played under these circumstances. The chance to reach a final was the only moment we’ve had here. We were confident in how the supporters would create this atmosphere.”
This will be Emery’s sixth Europa League final — a record four wins and one defeat, the latter coming against Chelsea while he was Arsenal manager in 2019.
“Europe is very important,” he added. “In my first press conference here, I spoke about Europe and about trophies as well, but it’s very difficult. It’s difficult to win trophies. In Europe, it’s hard to be as consistent as we are. It’s through hard work and the players must set the standards we want to achieve. Today the players gave their best, collectively and individually.”
Only Giovanni Trapattoni, with seven, has reached more major European finals than Emery. “There’s no better manager than this to prepare us for this game and take us into the final. His track record speaks for itself,” Watkins told TNT. “We need to go and win it now.”
Watkins acknowledged that squad changes are expected this summer, making this run the final chance for the current group to achieve something together. Emery has extracted everything from his players — several, including Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers, arrived from the Championship, and there is internal recognition that the squad needs rebuilding.
Captain McGinn also understands this is the players’ last opportunity to be compared to club legends like European Cup-winning captain Dennis Mortimer and Paul McGrath, who lifted the 1994 and 1996 League Cups.
“We’ve had low moments, definitely,” McGinn told TNT. “It’s a demanding club to play for, but when it’s like this, Villa Park is electric.”
