DOMINANT Aston Villa dispatched Freiburg to win the Europa League and end a 30-year trophy drought.
First-half stunners from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia gave Villa control before Morgan Rogers’ strike sealed a second major European title 44 years after they won the European Cup.
Nine of that team from 1982 were at Besiktas Park in Istanbul to watch Unai Emery win his fifth Europa League.
Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in November 2022 with Villa three points above the relegation zone and has transformed them into top five contenders and, now, a European champion.
Villa supporter Prince William celebrated at the final whistle as Villa won major silverware for the first time since the 1996 League Cup.
Noah Atubolu kept an early Morgan Rogers drive out and Nicolas Hofler – in his final game before retirement – fired wide, but then Villa took over.
Tielemans – who scored the winner for Leicester in the 2021 FA Cup final – brilliantly volleyed in to cap a short corner routine four minutes before the break.
Buendia added a stunning second in first-half stoppage time, curling beyond Atubolu from 18-yards to leave Bundesliga side Freiburg with no way back.
Rogers added a third just before the hour, poking in Buendia’s near-post cross, to underline Villa’s superiority.
Amadou Onana hit the post and Buendia should have netted a fourth but, by then, Villa had already sealed victory.
It is a watershed moment for the club after ending a three-decade long wait for a trophy.
Unai Emery has overseen a momentous change for the club who, 10 years ago, were relegated from the Premier League for the first time.
But, with a European title and a second Champions League qualification in three seasons, this is a different club.
Villa will now be able to show signings the evidence that, if they join, they can win trophies. They are a regular top-five challenger and have now got over the line with silverware.
That is something Emery promised he was at Villa to do, and the challenge the former Arsenal and Paris St Germain boss has is to maintain it.
Emery will not just want to do that, though, he will look to improve on it, and Villa must match his ambitions as well.
The 54-year-old has such control at the club, something which he will not get elsewhere, and that approach has proven perfect for Villa and Emery.
They can still achieve success together and it could be just the start.
Villa go to Manchester City on Sunday (16:00) to finish their Premier League campaign.