Credit: Manh Tung - Breaking Media

James Barker

Thu 21 May 2026 12:10, UK

Unai Emery has masterminded a Europa League win for Aston Villa, with his team’s underlying numbers showing just how dominant they were in the competition.

Aston Villa, champions of Europe: that’s got a nice ring to it, hasn’t it?

Remember, remember the 20 May – it doesn’t rhyme but who cares, as it’s a date that nobody connected with the Villans will ever forget.

It was Turkish delight for Emery’s men, as Freiburg were no match for the boys from B6, putting their German opponents to the sword to the tune of three goals to nil.

Villa simply outclassed Freiburg on the night, but there will be no shame for Julian Schuster’s side in that, as they weren’t the first to have that said about them when taking on Aston Villa this season.

What did Unai Emery say after Aston Villa Europa League win?

Emery has now won his fifth Europa League title, as the Spaniard continues his love affair with the competition.

The 54-year-old won’t be resting on his laurels though, as he knows there is so much more potential for future silverware success at Villa Park.

Emery had already written himself into Aston Villa legend for how he’s turned them into a team that perennially qualifies for European football through the Premier League.

Indeed, in the four seasons he’s now been in charge at Villa Park, the 54-year-old has never failed to see his side qualify for Europe via the league.

Villa supporters couldn’t love him any more if they tried, and in a post to his official Instagram account after the Freiburg win, Emery penned a heartfelt message paying tribute to those fans, and everyone connected with the team.

We are all Europa League champions! This trophy is a team effort: the fans, the players, the coaching staff, the board and the sponsors,” he wrote.

“Enjoy the night as it deserves, and we’ll see you back home soon to celebrate together. Up The Villa!”

How dominant have Aston Villa been in the Europa League?

Sometimes, teams can go all the way to the final and even win a competition without playing particularly well, thus inciting criticism over how ‘deserving’ they are of lifting the trophy.

No such conversations will be taking place regarding Aston Villa’s 2025-26 Europa League campaign, however, as Emery’s side have looked like the eventual winners from the very beginning, winning seven of their eight league phase matches.

As per FotMob, no team in the Europa League this season averaged more goals per game than Villa’s 2.1, their 0.5 goals conceded per game or their nine clean sheets kept respectively.

Villa ranked second for expected goals (xG) with 25.1 and for their 45 big chances created, whilst also ranking third for touches in the opposition box with 419 respectively.

Emery’s side were tied for first in set-piece goals scored, netting eight times from those situations in this season’s competition, whilst also only conceding twice from them as well.

The Villans cruised through the knockout stages too, with convincing aggregate wins over Lille (3-0), Bologna (7-1) and Nottingham Forest (4-1) respectively, before dismantling Freiburg in the final.

A brilliant campaign, capped off with a totally deserved victory in the final, as Emery’s team blew away their opponents on the path to writing themselves in Villa Park history.