Unai Emery leaned on experience in the second leg of the all-English semifinal, fielding the oldest starting XI in Europa League history for Aston Villa (average age 29 years and 329 days). Rogers (23) was the only player under 28. Nottingham Forest had a chance to make a dream debut, but Hutchinson’s curling effort narrowly missed the far post.
Forest then had to withstand heavy pressure from Villa, who kept them on edge with regular set pieces. Pau Torres headed one corner on target, but Ortega tipped it over the bar. However, Villa’s breakthrough came from open play and a moment of inspiration from Buendía. The Argentine weaved between two defenders and fired a cross into the box, where Watkins arrived first to score.
Aston Villa 4
Nottingham Forest 0
Ollie almost doubled the lead with a powerful shot from the edge of the box. Ortega saved, but he couldn’t keep the ball out after the break. Buendía added a perfect penalty to his assist, earned when Milenkovic grabbed Torres’ shirt. Villa took the aggregate lead, and they sealed the game on a fast counterattack as the visitors pushed forward in numbers, giving Villa space. McGinn received a pass from Watkins and slotted home with a first-time finish into the far corner.
The captain wasn’t done; in a similar move, he scored a second goal, this time firing low to the near post. Villa Park erupted. Forty-four years after winning the European Cup, Birmingham could add another European trophy to the club’s museum. Emery knows this competition best: he has lifted the trophy three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. The Basque coach is in his element.
**A Perfect Successor**
In the first leg, Mario Dorgeles scored a stoppage-time winner for Braga. But in the return match, the Ivorian turned villain on six minutes, getting a red card for a cynical foul on Best as he raced toward goal. Freiburg took the lead when Kübler’s effort took a cruel deflection off a Braga defender, who could only watch in frustration as the ball looped into the net.
Freiburg 3
Braga 1
Freiburg’s second goal was pure class: Manzambi, a specialist in long-range strikes, curled a beauty into the top corner. But fortune smiled on the Germans in first-half stoppage time when Braga full-back Victor Gomes, charging forward, caught the goalkeeper but smashed the ball against the post with an empty net gaping. That moment could have changed everything. Braga, reduced to ten men, showed character by pulling one back and launching several dangerous attacks late on.
Fairness demands credit: Freiburg could and should have won by more. At 2-0, the Braga keeper produced a series of brilliant saves, including a double stop where he denied Ginter’s rebound with his face. But Kübler was not to be denied, heading home a Grifo free kick.
The German club will play in a European final for the first time, matching Sevilla’s record of 11 consecutive home wins in the Europa League. Christian Streich, who has given nearly 33 years to Freiburg, is delighted that his boyhood club has reached a new level under his protégé, Julian Schuster, who played under Streich for ten seasons and has become the perfect successor.
**The “Bees” Sting**
In the quarterfinals, both teams faced similar situations—but only partly. Strasbourg had to come from 2-0 down at home against Mainz, while Rayo Vallecano barely survived away to AEK after building a three-goal lead. Here, the margin was just a single goal for the “bees” after the first leg.