Unai Emery strode into Villa Park and boldly proclaimed he came to Aston Villa to win silverware. During his inaugural press conference in November 2022, the Spanish coach’s determination was unmistakable. Just over three years on, Villa are on the cusp of achieving that goal.
In front of a roaring, triumphant Villa Park on Thursday, the club secured a place in the Europa League final with a commanding victory over Nottingham Forest. German side Freiburg await in Istanbul on May 20, but few would wager against Emery adding a fifth Europa League trophy to his impressive haul.
Villa stand one game away from their first major trophy in three decades and their first European title in 44 years, aiming to walk alongside the club’s European champions from 1982. The commentary of Peter Withe’s winning goal against Bayern Munich in Rotterdam is immortalized above the Doug Ellis Stand. In two weeks, Villa might need another banner if they triumph in Turkey, which would also secure a Champions League return regardless of their Premier League top-five finish.
John McGinn’s late double capped a dominant performance that overwhelmed Nottingham Forest. Manager Vitor Pereira had Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare, and Murillo on the bench, but none were fully fit; only defender Murillo made a brief two-minute appearance when the match was already decided. Even with that trio at full strength, the visitors might have struggled to contain a rampant Villa side that only accelerated as the game progressed.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring, and Emi Buendia converted a penalty to give Villa the lead on the night and in the tie. From then on, there was no doubt in a performance that even earned royal approval from Prince William, who visited the dressing room post-match to offer congratulations.
“They [the players] were so focused, they were aware about the momentum,” Emery said. “We planned before emotionally and how we were playing the match. It was the only match we played with these circumstances. The possibility to get to a final was the only moment we’ve had here. We were confident about how the supporters were here and creating this atmosphere.”
This will be Emery’s sixth Europa League final, with four wins—a record—and one defeat, which came against Chelsea while he was Arsenal manager in 2019. “Europe is very important,” he added. “In my first press conference here I was speaking about Europe, I was speaking about trophies as well, but it’s very difficult. It’s difficult to get trophies. In Europe, it’s difficult to be consistent like we are. It’s through our 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 finals in European competition than Emery. “There’s no better manager than this to get us prepared 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 current run a final chance to achieve something together. Emery has extracted everything from his players. Several, like Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash, and Morgan Rogers, joined Villa from the Championship, and there is internal recognition that the squad needs revamping.
Captain McGinn also understands that the players have one final opportunity to be compared to past heroes like European Cup-winning captain Dennis Mortimer and Paul McGrath, who lifted the 1994 and 1996 League Cups. He told TNT: “We’ve had low moments, definitely. It’s a demanding club to play for, but when it’s like this, Villa Park is electric.”
