Ollie Watkins reveals secret to Aston Villa's Europa League triumph | OneFootball

Villans overcame nervous first half to secure statement victory

Ollie Watkins said Unai Emery’s cool head helped Aston Villa get over the line in the Europa League final.

Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers all got on the scoresheet at the Besiktas Stadium as Villa breezed past Freiburg in the final, ending the club’s three-decade wait for silverware.

Emery is a seasoned winner in this competition, with this title his fifth in the Europa League.

Speaking pitch-side at full-time, Watkins revealed that Emery’s usual matchday nerves were nowhere to be seen on the day of the final, a factor he said helped the Villans secure the title.

"He was really calm today in the build up,” Watkins explained. “Sometimes in league games he's anxious because he wants to get the win, but today he was calm and that set the tone for us boys.”

Ollie Watkins played the full 90 minutes of Aston Villa’s victorious Europa League final

John McGinn added, heaping yet more praise on Emery: “With this manager in charge, anything is possible.”

Tielemans’ opener was the product of a corner struck sweetly on the volley, and Watkins admitted set-pieces were key to breaking the deadlock against a stubborn Freiburg side.

He told TNT Sports: "I've watched many finals and I think set pieces are crucial. Until then it was a bit cagey, they were going man for man. Fair play to [set piece coach] Austin MacPhee for having the courage, we left four up on a corner.

“To perform like that was unbelievable. I felt like we really controlled the game and we punished them in the end.

"An unbelievable experience. Look at this. It's what you dream of.

"Sometimes you have ups and downs but we pulled through in the end, we pushed on, we got Champions League football. It's so special. All of these fans - it's indescribable."