Ben Fisher was at Beşiktaş Park tonight. Here’s his match report. Congratulations to Aston Villa, commiserations to Freiburg, and thank you, dear reader, for sticking with this MBM.
Unai Emery - who has now won the Europa League five times. with three different clubs, records both – talks to TNT Sports. “Good evening … it is fantastic … Europe has given us a lot …. myself … I am always very grateful for Europe … and the clubs I have worked at … Valencia, Sevilla, Villarreal and here with Aston Villa … and of course the players … we played in a very serious way … focus … the players wished … the club is working to extend the stadium by 10,000 people … expanding the training centre …. development with the players … extending contracts … we must be demanding in our process … we are improving … the brand is very important … I am ambitious … but I need support … the players, the owners … clear. realistic … the Premier League is the most difficult league in the world … hopefully we can get closer.”
He also congratulates former club Arsenal for their Premier League title.
McGinn then moves on from the bigger picture to the match itself. “I don’t think we started the game pretty well … but we have a great set piece coach … we set up like the Liverpool corner. tried to deceive them a bit and it worked … after that we relaxed and played our football.”
It really is pelting down in Istanbul,. John McGinn has to wipe the rain from his eyes as he comes over to talk to TNT Sports. “I can’t believe it to be honest … what we’ve been through as a club … this club was close to being in a right bad way seven years ago … [owners Nassef Sawiris. Wes Edens] bought the club … they had one remit, to get the club back to the Premier League … then get it to compete to the levels it had before … tonight was just everything we have built coming together … the pride I felt 3-0 up with ten minutes to go, thinking ‘we’re European champions’ was something I can’t even describe.”
TNT’s Becky Ives finally gets to talk to Ezri Konsa! “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet … seven years at this club … a lot of ups. downs … to finally bring back some silverware for this club and the fans … look what it means to the fans … and the players … the fans have been through thick and thin with us, so this is for them … if you guys [at home in Birmingham] saw my letter [ in the Players’ Tribune ], I said believe … so if you did do that, thank you … this is for you!”
Ezri Konsa talks to TNT – finally, after being pulled away twice for some more team photos! “It’s mental … I don’t know what to say … it’s been a long journey … to finally bring some silverware back home.” Then Unai Emery arrives to join the team photo,. so TNT interviewer Becky Ives thoughtfully – and urgently – cuts short the interview. “Walk with me, walk with me,” she tells Konsa. “Unai Emery has come over! Go back for that photo! Don’t miss it, don’t miss it! Go go go. go go go!” Konsa, who had previously politely apologised for keeping Ives waiting, scampers back to join the mise-en-scene. Now it’s his turn to be front and centre, next to the cup and his delighted manager. That was a heart-warming moment all round.
The Villa players and staff get together for a team photo. The cup front and centre. Actually, more accurately, Emi Martínez front and centre, lying flat on the turf, pretending to be asleep. He’s a wag. Hey, he’s done worse. The rain coming down quite hard. Villa and their fans won’t care. They won’t feel a single drop.
Up come Aston Villa, who first jostle their delighted manager Unai Emery before going up to collect their medals. Then the big moment for John McGinn, who joins Dennis Mortimer. Ken McNaught in lifting a European trophy for the Villa! He collects the cup, kisses it, walks over to the podium, where all his mates wait, performs a little jig. raises the heavy silver vase into the sky with a huge shout of delight! Up goes the cup, down comes the ticker tape, and Villa pass their prize around. Then they wander down to their fans, everyone taking turns to raise the trophy and an even bigger cheer. Joyous scenes.
It’s time for the trophy presentation. Aston Villa form a guard of honour, first for the officials, then for their vanquished opponents. Villa warmly applaud the Freiburg players, Christian Günter leading the way. mouthing a humble but grateful “thank you” to the Villa men. Freiburg join a list of brave minnows who reached the final. couldn’t take the last step: Alavés, Middlesbrough, Fulham, Celtic, Rangers (x2), Dnipro. They’ll be proud of their efforts when the sting of defeat wears off. Like the aforementioned teams, those efforts will be remembered through the ages.
Ollie Watkins has a chat with TNT. “Amazing … to perform like that was unbelievable … we really controlled the game. punished them in the end … I’ve watched many finals and set pieces are crucial … until then it was cagey … we worked an unbelievable set piece … fair play to Austin [McPhee, set-piece coach] … we had the balls to leave four up at a corner … we pulled through in the end … now this, it’s so special … [Unai Emery] was really calm in the build up … that set the tone … Victor [Lindelof] was my man of the match tonight.”
Morgan Rogers talks to TNT. “It’s hard to put into words … we worked so hard for this … we knew we had one more game to give it our all … we all delivered … a great moment for the fans … it will go down in history … it was a great opportunity to win a trophy … we did that … the manager has been banging on about me getting easier goals … happy to get in there. get a toe on it … I’m tired but not that tired!”
A delighted Youri Tielemans talks to TNT. “Feel amazing … my voice is a bit gone … it’s all good … we put in a shift … a great season … to top it off with this, it’s amazing … we only had one day to practice [set-piece routines] … we did it on Monday … it went brilliantly tonight … it’s been a season with a lot of ups. downs … we started so poor … the way we turned things around was great … Champions League and a trophy! … great … UP THE VILLA!!!”
To a man, Aston Villa begin their cavorting around Beşiktaş Park! Emi Martínez – a pre-match injury concern, but no Jimmy Rimmer he – crumples to the floor in delight. John McGinn bouncing. Freed From Desire blaring from the speakers. They’re going to enjoy this, and whyever not, because that was a fitting way to slake their trophy thirst. Seriously impressive. There wasn’t much in it for the first 40 minutes, and if anything Freiburg were slightly the better side. But the Germans didn’t force Martinez into action, and when Villa finally located a higher gear … wow. A wonderful corner-kick routine and volley from Youri Tielemans changed everything. Emi Buendía curled home a worldie. Morgan Rogers made it three with a poacher’s goal, and Villa eased their way home from there. Freiburg utterly outclassed by the end. On this form, Villa will be a serious proposition in next year’s Champions League. But for now, they’re going to live in the moment and get down to some serious celebration. Aston Villa: 2026 Europa League champions!
Aston Villa are the winners of the 2026 Europa League! It’s their first trophy for 30 years, and their first European pot for 43!
90 min: Manzambi whistles a cross in from the right. Luiz flick-heads away from danger with red shirts lurking. There will be one minute of additional time.
89 min: As for. Sancho sequence … “More impressive that he achieved this while his contract was always with a different football club for those three years,” notes Spencer Jones. “Surely a first.”
88 min: Torres and Tielemans are replaced by Mings and Luiz.
87 min: Scherhant gives Konsa a petulant shove. The referee lets him away with it. A little frustration is allowed.
86 min: Günter comes on for Beste.
84 min: The resulting free kick is swung in from the left. finding Manzambi on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. He heads goalwards from the tight angle,. Martinez, with the ball past him, manages to claw it back under his control. A fine save, and it turns out Manzambi was offside anyway. But the keeper wasn’t to know that.
83 min: McGinn has a little nibble at an in-flight Rosenfelder, and goes into the book. He can have no complaints, and to be fair doesn’t make any.
81 min: Villa send on Sancho and Maatsen in place of Buendia and Digne. Sancho has now played in three European finals in the last three seasons. for three different clubs in three different competitions. He featured for Dortmund in the 2024 Champions League final, then scored for Chelsea in last season’s Conference League final. This sort of carry-on takes some doing.
79 min: Cash delivers long. McGinn, romping in from the other flank, has time to set himself before shooting,. rather scuffs his shot towards the bottom right. Easy for Atubolu.
78 min: Villa certainly want another. Watkins sashays deep into Freiburg territory and wins a corner on the left. Cash to send it in.
77 min: What a miss. Such a shame, because that was a lovely free-flowing move.
75 min: To their great credit. the Freiburg fans are still making plenty of noise, determined to enjoy what’s left of their day. Villa try to get their fans going again, McGinn. Tielemans combining crisply down the inside left to release Buendia, one on one with Atubolu, on the corner of the six-yard box. Buendia tries to wedge over the keeper instead of taking the easier option, going for the far corner,. ripples the side netting.
73 min: Another double change by Freiburg. Grifo and Kübler make way for Scherhant and Makengo.
71 min: Villa look in the mood to set some records. The biggest win in a one-off final is Sevilla’s 4-0 evisceration of Middlesbrough in 2006.
69 min: Watkins advances down the inside-right channel and shoots instead of feeding either Rogers or Buendia to his left. That would have led to a certain goal. But it’s just a corner, sent in from the right. Onana, from a very tight angle beyond the far stick, batters a header onto the upright.
68 min: Onana’s first contribution is to hold off Kübler and draw a free kick. The set piece is worked down the right, where McGinn crosses, looking for Watkins. Atubolu. who has done nothing wrong tonight yet has conceded three times in the biggest match of his life, claims with safe hands. Sport is cruel sometimes.
66 min: Lindelof gets himself out of a tight spot with an elegant drag-back and spin. It’s a fine way for him to exit the stage, his last act before he’s replaced by Onana.
65 min: Treu’s loose backpass nearly allows Watkins in. Atubolu races out of his box to bash clear and save the day. “Cats need relaxing activity toys as well as food,” notes Scott Blair, before offering: “Scratching Pole Calmer.”
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