Europa League Final

Aston Villa celebrates, Lienhart’s title dream dashed

Youri Tielemans scored the 1-0 goal.(Bild: AP/Francisco Seco)

Europa League Final! SC Freiburg (featuring ÖFB player Philipp Lienhart) faces Aston Villa at Istanbul’s Beşiktaş Park. We’re covering the match live—see the live ticker below. The score is currently 2-0 in favor of Aston Villa.

Here’s the live ticker:

Philipp Lienhart has the chance to kick off preparations for this summer’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as a Europa League champion. To do so, SC Freiburg must secure a victory on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) in the final against Aston Villa at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul. The 29-year-old is likely to start in central defense. He could become the second Austrian national team player after Kevin Danso to help Tottenham win Europe’s second-most prestigious club competition in 2025.

Martin Hinteregger and Stefan Ilsanker also won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, but neither played in the final. It is unlikely that Lienhart will face a similar “fate.” Although the defender struggled with injuries during the season, he played the full 90 minutes in both semifinal matches against SC Braga and in the final Bundesliga match of the season against RB Leipzig (4-1) on Saturday. “We want to take that final step and not be satisfied with just reaching the final,” emphasized Freiburg coach Julian Schuster.

Lienhart and Co. in European Cup Final for the First Time
The 41-year-old has reached the pinnacle of his coaching career at the end of his second season as the successor to longtime coach Christian Streich. For many players, too, the final is the highlight, as Freiburg gets to compete in a European Cup final for the first time. “It’s a very, very significant sign of how the club has developed over the last few decades. Now we need to overcome the mental barrier of our title-less era and see the final as a small starting point,” said Matthias Ginter. Defensive teammate Lukas Kübler hopes that SC Freiburg will be underestimated. “I’ve heard they hardly know anyone on our team. Maybe we can show them who we are on the field.”

Aston Villa coach Unai Emery (left) facing off against Freiburg coach Jonas Schuster.(Bild: AFP/DARREN STAPLES)

  Aston Villa also lacks significant experience in title-deciding matches; their glory days are long past. Their only major triumph came in 1982 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, which was also their only appearance in a final. Their coach, however, has a very different track record—one that is impressive. Unai Emery has reached the Europa League final five times, winning the title three times with Sevilla FC (2014 to 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021). Only in 2019, with Arsenal against Chelsea, was there no happy ending.

“I’ve gained experience in this competition, but now I find myself in a different situation again. In soccer, everything you’ve achieved before—even if it was fantastic—is in the past,” explained the 54-year-old, who has been in his current role since November 2022. Of course, the goal is to add another “chapter” to his own success story. Regardless, the season has been impressive so far, as the “Villans” secured a Champions League spot via the league for the second time in the past three years with a 4-2 victory over Liverpool on Friday, thanks in part to their strong blend of offensive firepower and tactical discipline.

Freiburg Also in the Running for a CL Spot and a Windfall
Freiburg also still has a chance at the “Champions League,” as the Europa League champion is automatically qualified. Financially, too, there is a lot at stake for the Germans. A six-million-euro victory bonus, four million euros for participating in the UEFA Super Cup, and a Champions League entry fee of more than 18 million euros await them if they win on Wednesday. “Anything can happen in a single game; sometimes the underdog beats the favorite,” Ginter emphasized.

Schuster is also aware of the difficulty of the task. “We have a clear picture of Aston Villa. Many of their players are in their prime. They’re calm when they have the ball, and up front they have a duo that understands each other perfectly,” the Freiburg coach analyzed. Top English striker Ollie Watkins has scored 19 goals (5 assists) in 53 competitive matches this season, while his attacking partner Morgan Rogers has contributed 13 goals and 11 assists in 54 matches. Both hope to give the fans their first title since the 1996 English League Cup triumph. If the bookmakers are to be believed, that’s exactly what will happen—they see the Birmingham club as the clear favorite.