BIRMINGHAM, MAY 8 (IANS): John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia powered Aston Villa into the UEFA Europa League final, courtesy of a 4-1 aggregate victory over Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals, triumphing 4-0 in a pulsating second leg at Villa Park.
Villa will face Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League final at Istanbul’s Besiktas Park on May 20.
Aston Villa, the 1982 European Cup winners, are through to their second major UEFA final. The Villans have not won a major trophy since 1996, losing four cup finals since. Although Omari Hutchinson curled just wide early on for the visitors, it was Villa who made most of the running initially without threatening much. Pau Torres forced Stefan Ortega to tip over the bar, Youri Tielemans nodded wide and Ollie Watkins’ header was easily held.
But after Tielemans went close from long range, the hosts took the lead their endeavours merited. Emiliano Buendía’s quick feet took him past Jair Cunha and Elliot Anderson and allowed him to cut back for Watkins to break the deadlock.
Villa continued with the same intensity after the restart and were awarded a penalty when Nikola Milenkovic pulled Torres’ shirt. Up stepped Buendía, whose finish was emphatic as he steered past Ortega to edge Unai Emery’s side ahead overall. From there, two quick goals from John McGinn finished the contest as Villa sealed their place in a first major UEFA final since 1982. First, the club captain bent in a lovely left-footed effort from Watkins’ pass and then, three minutes later, finished from a similar position after receiving from Morgan Rogers. Each strike was met with more euphoria than the last as Villa’s dominant performance took them one step away from what could become their third European trophy.
Freiburg turn Braga tie into historic final place
SC Freiburg reached the Europa League final for the first time in the club’s history after beating Sporting Braga 3-1 in the second leg of their semifinal to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit and set up a meeting with Aston Villa in Istanbul. Julian Schuster’s side advanced 4-3 on aggregate after the match was transformed almost immediately by Braga’s red card. Mario Dorgeles, scorer of the Portuguese club’s winner in the first leg, was dismissed in the sixth minute for a last-man foul on Niklas Beste, leaving the visitors to play almost the entire match with 10 men. Freiburg turned that advantage into control. Vincenzo Grifo’s cross from the left was not dealt with cleanly, and Lukas Kubler bundled the ball into the lower corner in the 18th minute to level the tie, reports Xinhua.
The hosts then moved ahead before halftime. Philipp Treu found Johan Manzambi in a central position, and the midfielder struck from distance into the right corner in the 41st minute. Braga nearly responded in first-half stoppage time, but Victor Gomez rounded Noah Atubolu and hit the post from a tight angle before Rodrigo Zalazar’s follow-up was blocked.
Freiburg resumed with the stronger momentum. Grifo hit the post in the 47th minute, Matthias Ginter sent an effort narrowly wide, and Manzambi forced Lukas Hornicek into a save. Braga still created openings, with Jean-Baptiste Gorby denied by Atubolu before Joao Moutinho curled just wide from the edge of the area. Kubler gave Freiburg breathing space in the 72nd minute, heading Grifo’s free kick into the far corner to make it 3-0 on the night. Braga pulled a goal back seven minutes later when Pau Victor finished from close range after Joao Moutinho’s set piece and Victor Gomez’s delivery.
Atubolu preserved Freiburg’s aggregate lead late on, saving from Gorby in the 88th minute and Gabri Martinez deep into stoppage time. Freiburg will face Aston Villa at Tupras Stadion in Istanbul on May 20 in the final.