Europa League — Aston Villa crushes Nottingham Forest as Unai Emery reaches another UEL final

Aston Villa reached the Europa League final on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest, including two goals from John McGinn, in the second leg of their all-English semi-final for a 4-1 aggregate victory in the hunt for a first trophy in 30 years.

Villa will play Freiburg in Istanbul on May 20 after German team defeated Braga 3-1 and 4-3 on aggregate that evening.

Trailing 0-1 in the first leg, Unai Emery’s Villa side came out in full force at a pulsating Villa Park and grabbed the lead the dominance deserved in the 36th minute when Watkins tapped in after brilliant footwork from Emiliano Buendia.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, Buendia grabbed Villa’s second with a coolly taken penalty after Nikola Milenkovic unnecessarily pulled Pau Torres’ shirt in the area.

Captain McGinn scored a pair of goals in the 77th and 80th minutes, causing delirium among most of the 43,000 fans, including Villa supporting Prince William.

Villa became European champions in 1982 and last won silverware when they won the League Cup in 1996. It is hoped that four-time Europa League winner Emery can add to his list of achievements – for the first time with an English club.

Published on May 8, 2026