🔥 Final decided! Aston Villa thrash Forest, Freiburg see off Braga | OneFootball

The UEFA Europa League 2025/2026 final is set.

Winners of the first legs, Nottingham Forest and Braga ended up being beaten this Thursday (7).

Aston Villa and Freiburg, respectively, secured their places in the final on the 20th at Besiktas Stadium.

It will be a final between a club that has already been crowned European champion and one fighting for the biggest trophy in its history. 

Check out a summary of the matchups below. 

Unai Emery chases his 5th UEL

Forest had the edge in the first game (1-0). But they could not hold up at Villa Park, losing 4-0.

That secured yet another Europa League final for Unai Emery, the tournament’s "owner."

The Spanish coach has lost only one semifinal in the competition.

And he is heading to his sixth final, now in charge of Aston Villa.

He won three titles with Sevilla (2013/14, 14/15 and 15/16), one with Villarreal (2020/21), and only lost with Arsenal (2018/19). 

The better side from the start, Villa went ahead in the 36th minute through Wattkins — who had suffered a blow to the head just minutes earlier. 

The second came after Milenkovic pulled Pau Torres in the box, conceding a penalty.

And Buendía made no mistake (57').

Without Gibbs-White, Forest only posed real danger for the first time in the 71st minute, when Dibu Martínez said "no" to Chris Wood. 

With more and more space opening up, Villa got their third through one of the club’s banners, John McGinn, in the 77th minute.

And the No. 7 would add another soon after (80').

European Cup champions — today’s Champions League — in 1981/1982, Villa are chasing new European glory. 

And the end of a long drought, as they have not won a title since lifting the English League Cup in 1995/1996.

It is the high point of Emery’s work at the club after disappointment in the Conference League and after pushing eventual champions PSG in the last Champions League.

Freiburg in search of their greatest glory

After losing 2-1 in Portugal, Freiburg won 3-1 at the Europa-Park Stadion.

And they will have the chance to win the biggest title in their history. Their most significant trophies so far are the 2. Bundesliga titles.

Scorer of the winner at Pedreira in the 92nd minute, Mario Dorgeles became Braga’s villain on German soil as early as the sixth minute.

With a man down, Braga could not hold on.

Lukas Kübler scored the first "by accident."

And Manzambi doubled the lead before halftime.

Kübler got the third after a pass from top scorer Grifo (72').

Brave Braga only managed one, through Pau Victor (79').

They will not get the chance to chase the trophy that slipped away in 2010/11, when they were beaten by regional rivals Porto. 

Freiburg’s achievement was followed by a pitch invasion by hundreds of supporters.

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

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