Aston Villa's Journey to the Europa League Final
Unai Emery walked into Villa Park in November 2022 and said he had come to win trophies. Not to stabilise, not to rebuild. To win.
On Thursday night, that promise felt closer than ever to being fulfilled.
Under the floodlights and in front of a Villa Park that crackled from first whistle to last, Aston Villa crushed Nottingham Forest to book their place in the Europa League final. Istanbul awaits on 20 May, with Freiburg standing between Emery and a fifth Europa League crown. Right now, you would not rush to bet against him.
Villa on the brink of history
This is not just another European run. Villa are one game from their first major trophy in 30 years and their first European silverware in 44. One game from stepping out of the shadows of the club’s immortal class of 1982.
High above the Doug Ellis Stand, the words of the commentary of Peter Withe’s winner against Bayern Munich in Rotterdam are printed on a banner, a permanent reminder of what this club once was. In two weeks’ time, Villa may need to find space for another moment, another line of commentary, another night that defines a generation.
Victory in Turkey would not only end the long wait for a trophy; it would haul Villa back into the Champions League regardless of where they finish in the Premier League’s top five chase. Emery arrived talking about Europe. He has dragged Villa back to its top table.
The manner of this semi-final win underlined how far they have come. John McGinn’s late double merely decorated a performance that had already broken Forest’s resistance and, in truth, their belief. Villa were faster, sharper, more ruthless. The scoreline felt inevitable long before the final whistle.
Forest boss Vitor Pereira could name Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Murillo on the bench, but only Murillo made it on – and even then just for the final two minutes with the tie long gone. Even had that trio been fully fit, the way Villa surged through the game suggested Forest would still have struggled to live with them.
Ollie Watkins set the tone with the opener, Emi Buendia buried a penalty to turn the tie decisively Villa’s way, and from that point the home side played with the conviction of a team that knew exactly where it was heading. The pressure told, and kept telling.
The performance even drew royal approval. A lifelong Villa fan, Prince William, made his way to the dressing room afterwards to offer his congratulations. This was a night that felt bigger than a simple semi-final win.
Emery, though, had seen it coming.
“They were so focused, they were aware about the momentum,” he said. “We planned before emotionally and how we were playing the match. The possibility to get to a final was the only moment we've had here. We were confident about how the supporters were here and creating this atmosphere.”
This will be Emery’s sixth Europa League final. He has already won four – a record – with the only blemish that 2019 defeat to Chelsea while in charge of Arsenal. Only Giovanni Trapattoni, with seven, has reached more major European finals than the Spaniard. It is rarefied company, and Villa know it.
“Europe is very important,” Emery said. “In my first press conference here I was speaking about Europe, I was speaking about trophies as well, but it's very difficult. It's difficult to get trophies.
“In Europe, it's difficult to be consistent like we are. It's through our hard work and the players must set the standards we want to achieve. Today the players gave their best, collectively and individually.”
Watkins, who has grown into one of the most complete forwards in the league under Emery, knows exactly what that pedigree means.
“There's no better manager than this to get us prepared for this game and take us into the final. His track record speaks for itself,” he told TNT. “We need to go and win it now.”
Last dance for this group?
Watkins also spoke with a blunt honesty that cut through the celebrations. Changes are coming. This squad will not look the same by the time next season starts. For some, this is the last chance to achieve something truly lasting together.
Emery has squeezed everything from this group. Several of his key players – Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash, Morgan Rogers – arrived from the Championship. They have been coached, hardened and elevated into Champions League-level performers, but inside the club there is a clear understanding that the squad needs refreshing if Villa are to stay at this level.
McGinn, the captain and heartbeat, knows exactly what is at stake. He understands the weight of names like Dennis Mortimer, who lifted the European Cup in 1982, and Paul McGrath, the defensive icon of the 1994 and 1996 League Cup wins.
“We've had low moments, definitely. It's a demanding club to play for, but when it's like this, Villa Park is electric. What we've done in the last few years is exceptional,” he told TNT.
“I felt it this morning, but now it is about embracing it and trying to be legends. You see the guys from 1982, you see the cup winners in the 90s.
“It's a historic club and it's been a long time without success. There's been massive lows, like relegation and it has built itself back up. It's such a proud football club, it deserves success and hopefully we can be the group to do it.”
That is the emotional charge behind this run. It is not just about a trophy. It is about reconnecting with an identity that had started to fade.
Buendia’s revival
Few players embody Villa’s resurgence under Emery quite like Emi Buendia.
At one point, he looked finished at the club. Loaned to Bayer Leverkusen in the second half of last season, he started just three Bundesliga games. For a player who had arrived from Norwich in 2021 as a then-record signing in a deal rising to £38m, it felt like a quiet exit was being staged.
His first season had brought only four goals in 38 games. Then came a serious knee injury that wiped out his entire 2023-24 campaign, leaving him watching from the sidelines as his team-mates secured Champions League qualification without him. Villa, under pressure from Profit and Sustainability rules, were ready to sell last summer.
They didn’t. It may prove one of the most important decisions of Emery’s time in Birmingham.
This season, Buendia has become one of his manager’s most reliable lieutenants, scoring 10 goals and playing with a sharpness and edge that has made a planned loan move for Harvey Elliott from Liverpool unnecessary.
His penalty against Forest carried weight. A place in a European final, the momentum of a season, the chance to turn a good campaign into a historic one. He wanted it.
“I took responsibility,” he told TNT. “It was one of the most decisive penalties for the club in recent years, but I didn't feel pressure. I felt calm, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
“We showed the whole season how good we can play. The result is amazing and I think we deserve it.
“I think the prestige to win a trophy, with the history this club has – it would be amazing. The fans really want this trophy for us, and we will try.”
Former Villa striker Dion Dublin, watching on for BBC Radio 5 Live, highlighted the qualities that have made Buendia so valuable in this new-look side.
“Buendia goes below the radar,” he said. “He plays good passes, weight of pass is good. His finishing is good.
“He's nasty too, he doesn't mind putting a foot in. He is one of those players Villa need in their side in order to achieve things. He doesn't want the plaudits, he just wants to play and get to finals.”
That blend of craft and grit has come to define this Villa team. They play with style, but they compete with a ferocity that reflects their manager.
Emery spoke about standards, about consistency, about the hard work required to turn a noisy stadium and a proud history into something tangible. Now, 90 minutes in Istanbul will decide whether this season becomes a landmark in the club’s modern story or just another near miss.
The banner above the Doug Ellis Stand tells the tale of 1982. The question now is simple: who writes the next line?
