Aston Villa Beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 To Reach Europa League Final Against SC Freiburg

Aston Villa reached the Europa League final by beating Nottingham Forest 4-0 at Villa Park on Thursday to win the semi-final 4-1 on aggregate, with goals from Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendia and John McGinn’s double.

“A jubilant Prince of Wales was pictured pumping his fists in the air before celebrating with Aston Villa's players in the dressing room after they reached the Europa League final”

3FM Isle of Man

The tie was set up after Forest’s one-goal advantage from the first leg counted for nothing, as Watkins scored in the first half and Buendia converted a penalty early in the second half.

3FM Isle of Man

McGinn then completed the rout with a late double as Villa fans celebrated the win and the club’s trip to Istanbul for the final on May 20.

Unai Emery’s side will face Bundesliga club SC Freiburg after Freiburg booked their place in the final with victory over Sporting Braga, winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Freiburg will be missing €10m midfielder Yuito Suzuki after the Japan international fractured his collarbone in Freiburg’s Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg last Sunday.

After the win, Prince William visited the dressing room and Unai Emery said of the Prince of Wales: "He was in the dressing room with the players, and with me and of course he was so happy."

Emery also framed the moment as a chance to avoid being "nearly men," with John McGinn telling TNT Sports: "The margins are so slim - if we lose tonight, then we are the nearly men."

BBC

Ollie Watkins paid tribute to Emery, saying: "There is no better manager to get us prepared for this game and obviously take us into the final as well."

The Birmingham Live report said Villa will face Freiburg in Istanbul on May 20 after overturning a one-goal deficit from the first leg, while Sky Sports described the semi-final turnaround as Villa blowing Forest away at Villa Park.

In the same Sky Sports match report, Vitor Pereira’s Forest were described as coming into the game on a five-game winning streak, with Morgan Gibbs-White an unused substitute.

The Europa League final is scheduled for Wednesday 20 May 2026 in Istanbul between Freiburg and Aston Villa, with the UEFA listing showing the match as "Freiburg vs Aston Villa" at 21:00 CET.

“Freiburg dealt devastating blow ahead of Aston Villa Europa League final SC Freiburg will be missing €10m midfielder when they face Aston Villa in the Europa League final SC Freiburg will be missing one of their key players against Aston Villa in the Europa League final”

Birmingham Live

Aston Villa’s run to the final also intersects with the broader European calendar described by 3FM Isle of Man, which said Villa’s success came on the same evening that Crystal Palace reached a European final.

Sports Illustrated framed the matchup as a potential defining game for Chelsea, noting that if Aston Villa win the Europa League, only Freiburg stand between them and the trophy.

Birmingham Live said Freiburg’s absence of Yuito Suzuki comes after his collarbone fracture in Freiburg’s Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg last Sunday, leaving Villa to prepare for a final without one of Freiburg’s key midfield options.

With the final date set for May 20 in Istanbul, Villa’s next step is to convert the semi-final momentum into a first Europa League title, while Freiburg seek to complete their own run after winning 4-3 on aggregate over Sporting Braga.