Aston Villa strolled to a 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday to end the club’s 30-year trophy drought.
Aston Villa represented the Premier League in explosive fashion as the Birmingham side topped Freiburg 3-0 in the 2026 Europa League final to lift their first major European title since 1982.
Cast out of the side not a year prior, Emiliano Buendia was the star of the show, scoring a goal and providing an assist to rubber stamp a sensational team performance.
Villa struggled out of the gates as Freiburg’s press disrupted their buildup, but they grew into the game and went in front as Youri Tielemans scored off an excellent corner routine five minutes before halftime.
They would double the lead before the break as Buendia’s glittering curler put Villa two goals in front on the stroke of the halftime whistle.
Just before the hour mark, Villa would find a third as Buendia turned provider to feed Morgan Rogers at the near post for a sliding finish.
In front of a raucous group of traveling supporters in Istanbul, the victory brought Aston Villa’s first continental title since they won the 1982 European Cup. The win saw Unai Emery win his fifth career Europa League final, coming with his third club, both a record for this individual competition.
Freiburg, meanwhile, tasted a comprehensive defeat while contesting their first-ever European final in club history.
The Sporting News followed the 2026 UEFA Europa League final live, providing score updates, commentary, and analysis.
Freiburg vs. Aston Villa final score
Location: Tupras Stadium (Istanbul, Turkey)
Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA)
Starting lineups:
Freiburg (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Atubolu (GK) — 17. Kubler (Makengo, 73′), 28. Ginter, 3. Lienhart (Rosenfelder, 61′), 29. Treu — 8. Eggestein, 27. Hofler (Holer, 61′) — 19. Beste, 44. Manzambi, 32. Grifo (Scherhant, 73′) — 31. Matanovic.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1, right to left): 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 2. Cash, 4. Konsa, 14. Torrres (Mings, 88′), 12. Digne (Maatsen, 81′) — 3. Lindelof (Onana, 66′), 8. Tielemans (Luiz, 88′) — 7. McGinn, 27. Rogers, 10. Buendia (Sancho, 81′) — 11. Watkins.
Freiburg vs. Aston Villa stats
| Freiburg | Stat | Aston Villa |
| 4 | Shots | 17 |
| 2 | Shots on target | 6 |
| 0.22 | Expected goals | 2.08 |
| 51% | Possession | 49% |
| 309 | Accurate passes | 306 |
| 1 | Corners | 8 |
| 15 | Fouls | 15 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 3 |
Freiburg vs. Aston Villa live updates, highlights from Europa League final
FULLTIME: Freiburg 0-3 Aston Villa
A glorious performance from Aston Villa, who looked shaky in possession for the first 20 minutes but kept their cool, got it together, and dominated across the final 70 minutes of play!
Three beautiful goals see them through to victory in the Europa League final, as Unai Emery lifts his fifth European trophy, a joint record alongside Carlo Ancelotti and Giovanni Trapattoni!
81st min: Emiliano Buendia, who’s been nothing short of spectacular tonight, comes off to an applause from the Aston Villa crowd, replaced by Jadon Sancho. Ian Maatsen also enters to replace Lucas Digne.
76th min: Chance, Aston Villa! It’s champagne football from Aston Villa, but Emiliano Buendia misses the chance! They go ping-ping-ping as one-touch passing carves Freiburg open, but the Argentine misses the shot at the near post with only the goalkeeper to beat!
61st min: Now 3-0 down, Freiburg make a double change as Max Rosenfelder and Lucas Holer come on, the former returning from injury to see out the last half-hour.
58th min: GOAL! ASTON VILLA! MORGAN ROGERS MAKES IT THREE AND ASTON VILLA ARE ON THE VERGE OF A EUROPEAN TITLE!
Emiliano Buendia turns to creator, and he cooks Lucas Kubler one-on-one on the edge of the penalty area to work space for a cross, delivering a fizzed low ball to the near post where Rogers slides to meet the ball and poke it into the net!
Watch Morgan Rogers goal in USA:
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Morgan Rogers goal in UK
2nd half kickoff: They’re back under way for the final 45 minutes. Can Aston Villa hold onto their advantage or increase it further to seal a convincing European title? Or will Freiburg pressure Villa into mistakes and get back into the match? Here we go, the trophy hangs in the balance!
HALFTIME: Freiburg 0-2 Aston Villa
Freiburg managed to go toe-to-toe with Aston Villa for much of that first half, but the Bundesliga side fell apart down the final stretch, and Villa took full control of this European final.
A pair of wonderful goals have the Premier League side in front, as Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia both buried chances. Villa had been shaky up to that point, but after the opener, they poured on the pressure and deservingly picked up a second right before the break.
It feels like maybe too much for Freiburg to climb back into this game, and Villa could be on their way to lifting the Europa League trophy!
45+3 min: GOAL! ASTON VILLA! A TRULY WONDERFUL CURLING EFFORT FROM EMI BUENDIA DEPOSITS IN THE TOP CORNER!
The Premier League side has ramped up the pressure and put Freiburg on the ropes as the first half draws to a close, and they’ve profited again as Buendia crops up outside the top-right corner of the penalty area, cutting the ball onto his left foot and burying it in the corner past a diving Noah Atubolu who goes full stretch but still doesn’t come close to getting a fingertip on the ball!
A goal worthy of a cup final!
Watch Emiliano Buendia goal in USA:
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Emiliano Buendia goal in UK
41st min: GOAL! ASTON VILLA! YOURI TIELEMANS PUTS THE PREMIER LEAGUE SIDE IN FRONT OFF A CORNER!!!!
It’s a move straight off the training ground, as it begins with a short cut-back, before Morgan Rogers floats it to the far top corner of the six-yard box where a completely unmarked Tielemans trails the pack completely unmarked, meeting the ball with a clean, volleyed first-time strike that fins the back of the net!
Watch Youri Tielemans goal in USA:
34th min: Things started very brightly in Istanbul, but the match has devolved quickly and has become quite cagey. Aston Villa have tried desperately to build out of the back, but have been disrupted heavily by Freiburg’s press. It’s not created much in front of goal for the German side, but it has blown up a lot of Villa’s possession and caused the game to become a testy midfield battle full of physical challenges and misplaced passes.
22nd min: A third yellow card already in the match is shown to Matty Cash who sticks his foot out to contest a bounding ball and follows through onto an opponent’s shin. It’s only a glancing blow, so there’s nothing more than the booking, but it’s a nasty one from the Villa full-back.
Villa have not been terribly accurate with their tackling through the opening stage of this match.
15th min: Emiliano Buendia becomes the first Aston Villa player into the referee’s book as he spikes Jan-Niklas Beste as they battle for a cleared ball out of the Villa defensive third.
6th min: A very early yellow card is shown to Freiburg left-back Philipp Treu who bear-hugs John McGinn as the Villa winger tries to get free on the touchline around midfield. He’ll be walking a tightrope the rest of the way!
3rd min: Chance, Aston Villa! Morgan Rogers forces an early save from Noah Atubolu! A wonderful tackle by Youri Tielemans starts a two-on-three counter-attack and great hold-up play from Ollie Watkins sees Rogers takes on two defenders shaded to the right, and his right-footed curler requires a diving parry from the Freiburg goalkeeper!
Then, moments later, Watkins scuffs a shot from close-range with a great opening! Aston Villa are teeing off early, but wasting big chances!
Kickoff: They’re under way in Istanbul! Or as the Aston Villa faithful have affectionately dubbed it, “Vil-stanbul” after the Premier League club’s supporters have taken over the Turkish city. Who will lift a European trophy today?
It seems that Emi Martinez has managed to remain in the starting lineup for now, but we will have to monitor his ability to make saves to see if he can stay in the match all the way throughout, especially if a penalty shootout is required at the end.
Freiburg vs. Aston Villa: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more
15 mins to kickoff: There is a real problem for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who seems to be in some discomfort during warmups and has apparently gone back to the dressing room. Sounds like an issue with his right hand. There remains no word yet on if he will be replaced in the starting lineup, but clearly this is a concern not only for Aston Villa in a European final, but also for defending World Cup champions Argentina with the FIFA tournament only weeks away…
30 mins to kickoff: Aston Villa manager Unai Emery would become the third head coach to win a European trophy with three different clubs (Jose Mourinho and Giovanni Trapattoni the others), and is aiming for his FIFTH all-time Europa League title. His four is already way more than any other manager, so another trophy would solidify him as one of the best to ever compete in Europe.
Fascinatingly, he would do so with the only three clubs in European top flight football with the phrase “villa” in their name, after winning the title with Sevilla (three times) and Villarreal!
1 hour to kickoff: Freiburg’s recent form has not been impressive, as they have won just one of their last four Bundesliga matches to ed the season, but that one was a recent 4-1 victory over third-placed RB Leipzig, an impressive result after defeats to Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg plus an embarrassing draw with relegation-threatened Wolfsburg.
How will they stack up against a top-five Premier League side? We will find out today!
LINEUPS: There are zero surprises from either side as the starting lineups have been released!
For Aston Villa, there is no Amadou Onana in the XI as Victor Lindelof continues to deputise in midfield. And the same is true for Freiburg who see both Patrick Osterhage and Max Rosenfelder out of action as expected.
1 hour 30 mins to kick: Matty Cash’s sister Hannah Cash is a presenter for CBS Sports football coverage in the United States, but today she’s an ardent Aston Villa supporter. She talks about how nervous she gets before matches, and how she is extra nervous for today’s game!
It’s a great insight into how the family of players approach matches as some of the biggest supporters.
2 hours to kickoff: Today’s match will be contested at the home of Turkish Super Lig side Besiktas!
Freiburg vs. Aston Villa kick off time
The 2026 UEFA Europa League final kicks off from Besiktas Park on Wednesday, May 20 at 9 p.m. local time in Istanbul, Turkey. Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA/Canada | Wed, May 20 | 3 p.m. ET |
| USA/Canada | Wed, May 20 | 12 p.m. PT |
| UK | Wed, May 20 | 8 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Thu, May 21 | 7 a.m. AEST |
| India | Thu, May 21 | 1:30 a.m. IST |
Freiburg vs. Aston Villa team news
There are two significant injuries for Freiburg to deal with in this European final. First, Yuito Suzuki and his four Europa League goals on the campaign will be absent after he suffered a broken collarbone in a late-season Bundesliga match that will end his season as well as his shot at playing in a World Cup with Japan. Additionally, regular midfield starter Patrick Osterhage went down with a season-ending knee injury just minutes into their late-March game against St. Pauli. Defender Max Rosenfelder is also done for the year with a hamstring injury.
Aston Villa are largely at full strength as the season winds to a close. Only the absence of midfielders Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara blights the otherwise fully fit squad. Onana may even pass fit for this match, having trained yesterday ahead of the game, but it remains to be seen whether he or Victor Lindelof starts in the centre of the park.
By sportingnews
