Former Benfica star shines in Europa League final: best on the pitch | OneFootball

Aston Villa won a European title again 44 years later by beating Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final. Unai Emery’s side thus lifted the fifth trophy of the Spanish coach’s career, on a night when Victor Lindelof, a former Benfica player, was one of the standout performers.

Once again deployed as a defensive midfielder, the Swedish international delivered a display widely praised by his teammates and was even named man of the match by Ollie Watkins. The striker also highlighted the calm shown by the manager before the game.

“He was very calm today in the build-up. Sometimes, in league games, he gets anxious because he wants the win, but today he was calm and that set the tone for us boys. Youri controlled the game in midfield. And Victor has been so good since he came in, he was the best player on the pitch,” he told TNT Sports.

The England striker also did not hide his emotion at the triumph, underlining the scale of the moment experienced by the English club. “Fantastic, fantastic. To put in a performance like that was incredible. I felt we really controlled the game and that, in the end, we punished them. An incredible experience. Look at this. This is what you dream of. Sometimes there are ups and downs, but we managed it in the end, we pushed on and secured qualification for the Champions League. It’s so special. All these fans... it’s indescribable,” he admitted.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.