Emery Secures Fifth Europa League Title After Villa Ease Past Freiburg

Written By Gareth Hinton | Published at May 21, 2026

Deventer, Netherlands - 23 October 2025 - Unai Emery during the UEFA Europa League 2025-26 League Phase MD3 match between Go Ahead Eagles and Aston Villa FC

Unai Emery has won his fifth UEFA Europa League title, guiding Aston Villa to a 3-0 victory over Freiburg in Istanbul. The Spaniard is one of the best in the business when it comes to winning major European trophies.

Emery Makes it Five

Aston Villa ended their 30-year wait for a major trophy with a convincing victory over German side Freiburg in the 2026 Europa League final at the Besiktas Stadium in Turkey. Villa’s last major silverware was the 1996 League Cup.

After a tight and tense 30 minutes, Villa sprang into life when Youri Tielemans opened the scoring late in the first half. A few minutes later, Emiliano Buendia doubled their advantage before the break. Morgan Rogers added gloss to the scoreline with a 58th-minute third.

Emery was a serial winner of this competition while at Sevilla, with the Spanish side sealing three Europa League successes in a row. He also won the competition with Villarreal in 2021.

How Far Can Emery Take the Villans?

Emery has worked wonders at Villa Park, turning the Midlands club into genuine European contenders. The Villans had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League before the Europa League triumph.

In the Premier League, Aston Villa look nailed on to finish fourth after another exceptional season in England’s top flight. Only Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United have won more games.

Aston Villa thumped Liverpool in their last EPL match to make sure of Champions League football. Emery’s troops end their league campaign this Sunday with a trip to the Etihad Stadium. A point in Manchester will guarantee fourth place.

Aston Villa will fancy their chances of making a real impact in UEFA’s elite club competition next term. Villa were last in the UCL in the 2024-25 season, finishing eighth in the league phase before being knocked out in the quarter-finals by French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

The Villa supporters will not want this incredible journey to end anytime soon, as Emery has the potential to take the club even further. They could be a force to be reckoned with domestically and in Europe next season.