Villa produced a dominant display to win 3-0 at Besiktas Park, lifting their first major European trophy since the club's famous European Cup success in 1982. Goals from Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers sealed a memorable night for the Premier League side.

The victory also marked Villa's first trophy since the 1996 League Cup and underlined the remarkable progress made since Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in 2022, when the club were battling near the relegation zone.

Emery made it clear after the final that he wanted Villa to keep pushing forward rather than settle for one successful season.

"I am ambitious and I need support from everybody at the club," Emery said.

"The players are following us and we are doing it together, but we must keep improving. We have to stay ambitious while also being realistic about the level we want to reach.

"Next season we will play in the Champions League and the Premier League is the most difficult competition in the world. That is our next challenge."

Villa wore an all-white kit as a tribute to the club's 1982 European Cup-winning side and they started the final with confidence. Rogers forced an early save from Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu before the German side missed a chance through Nicolas Höfler.

The breakthrough finally arrived late in the first half when Tielemans finished a clever corner routine with a superb low volley. Moments later, Buendia doubled Villa's lead with a brilliant curling strike into the far corner.

Freiburg never recovered and Rogers wrapped up the victory shortly before the hour mark, sliding in from Buendía's low cross for Villa's third goal.

The win gave Emery his fifth Europa League title after previous successes with Sevilla and Villarreal CF.

"Europe has given me so much in my career," Emery said.

"We played this competition seriously from the beginning and this trophy gives the players more experience and belief for the future.

"We are improving, we are playing finals and winning trophies. We are happy and proud, but we are not going to stop."

Freiburg manager Julian Schuster admitted the defeat was painful after the German club lost their first-ever European final.

"At this moment there is no satisfaction because we lost the final," Schuster said.

"We believed we could win and for long periods in the first half we were doing well. But we lost control of the game, especially from set-pieces, and that was very difficult for us."

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