Birmingham, England ¨C Four-time?Europa League winner ?Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth trip to the final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg ?of their all-English semifinal.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won ?three ?times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once ?with Villarreal (2021) ¡ª either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) ¡ª?deservedly earning him the epithet ¡°Mr. Europa League¡± from ?some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final ?seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
¡°His track ?record speaks for itself,¡± ?said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man ?to guarantee ?Europa League success. ¡°We need to go ?and win it now.¡±
Emery was delighted with how ?his ?team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semifinal to score four times at home and win ?4-1 on aggregate.
¡°Now we have to look to the final,¡± he said, hoping that Villa will do ¡°something fantastic¡± for its fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday¡¯s win, Emery left the ?pitch ?quickly after the final whistle, pumping ?his fist a few times at the crowd before ?letting his players enjoy the moment with fans.
He and his Villa side will be favorites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May ?20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted.
¡°Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,¡± he added of the upcoming opponent.
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