Nigeria: Aston Villa ends 30-year trophy drought with Europa League win
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria
Aston Villa has ended its 30-year trophy drought with a thrilling 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final on Wednesday. The Villans, led by Unai Emery, dominated the match, with spectacular goals from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia securing their first major European prize since 1982.
Tielemans opened the scoring with a thunderous volley in the 41st minute, before Buendia increased Villa’s advantage with a sublime curler just before halftime. Morgan Rogers sealed the win with a second-half goal, sparking jubilant celebrations among the 20,000 Villa fans in attendance, including Prince William and Tom Hanks
The victory marks Villa’s first silverware since the 1996 League Cup and caps an impressive turnaround under Emery, who took charge in October 2022 when the club was languishing just three points above the relegation zone.
