All roads lead to 'Villa' for Europa League king Unai Emery

Key points

• Aston Villa won their maiden Europa League title on Wednesday, May 20, under the guidance of Unai Emery, as the Spanish coach once again proved why he remains the undisputed king of the competition.
• Remarkably, all five of Emery’s Europa League triumphs have come with clubs carrying ‘Villa’ in their name - Sevilla, Villarreal and now Aston Villa.
• Villa dismantled Freiburg 3-0 in the final in Istanbul, capping off a stunning rise under Emery, who took charge of the club in 2022 when they were hovering dangerously close to the Premier League relegation zone.
• Less than four years later, he has transformed Villa into one of England’s strongest sides, guided them back into the Champions League and now delivered their first European trophy since 1982. Read Full Story Wednesday’s performance was perhaps the perfect representation of Emery’s Aston Villa project.
• They were organised without the ball, ruthless in transition and...