Europa League final in Türkiye: Aston Villa seek history, inspired by Liverpool and City’s Istanbul triumphs | OneFootball

Aston Villa face SC Freiburg in the Europa League final tonight at the Sükrü Saracoglu Stadyumu in Istanbul.

Unai Emery is hoping to extend his record-breaking return of four Europa League titles, and Aston Villa's 30-year wait for a major trophy.

Aston Villa can take heart from previous major European finals staged in Türkiye. Tonight's game will be the fourth major UEFA club competition final hosted in the country, with two of the previous three won by English clubs.

Liverpool were victorious in the first-ever Turkish final, staged at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in 2005.

Rafael Benitez's side recovered from three goals downto beat AC Milan on penalties, in a final often remembered as the greatest in Champions League history.

The Reds had trailed 3-0 at half-time, but three goals in six second-half minutes from Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer, and Xabi Alonso saw Liverpool level before shootout success. The win was Liverpool's fifth European Cup triumph and first for 21 years.

Manchester City also made history at the same venue. The Cityzens were crowned Champions League winners for the first time after beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul in 2023.

After losing the Champions League final in Porto two years earlier, City returned to the showpiece with success as Rodri scored the decisive goal.

The win completed a historic treble for Pep Guardiola's side, who had earlier lifted the Premier League and FA Cup. City became only the second English team to achieve that treble, after Manchester United in 1998/99.

The other European final hosted in Türkiye took place at tonight's venue, the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home of Fenerbahçe. On that occasion, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Werder Bremen 2-1 in the 2009 UEFA Cup final.

The final was notable as the first European football final to be held outside geographical Europe. The stadium lies across the Bosphorus from the city centre, in geographical Asia.