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05/20 16:00 CDT Aston Villa and Prince William celebrate Europa League triumph
ending team's 30-year trophy drought
Aston Villa and Prince William celebrate Europa League triumph ending team's
30-year trophy drought
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
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
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