Aston Villa and Prince William celebrate Europa League triumph ending team’s 30-year trophy drought

In front of the future king of England, Unai Emery reaffirmed his status as the king of the Europa League.

Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul on Wednesday to secure Emery a record-extending fifth title in this competition.

Celebrating wildly inside the Tupras Stadium was lifelong Villa fan Prince William, who traveled to watch his beloved team end a 30-year wait for a major trophy.

Was the outcome ever in doubt with the ultimate Europa League specialist Emery on the sideline?

The Spanish coach has enjoyed remarkable success in Europe’s second-tier competition, winning it three years running with Sevilla from 2014-16 and again with Villarreal in 2021.

Now he has led a third team with ‘Villa’ in its name to the title.

Two brilliant first-half strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put Villa into a 2-0 lead at the break. Morgan Rogers added a third in the second half.

It was Villa’s first major piece of silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996 and its first continental title since lifting the European Cup and then the Super Cup in 1982.

German team Freiburg, which was playing in the second division 10 years ago, was outclassed in its first European final.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

James Robson, The Associated Press