Prince William celebrates wildly as Unai Emery shows he is still Europa League king
Prince William celebrates Aston Villa taking the lead in the tie - James Gill/Getty Images Aston Villa’s current generation of players were fearing a reputation as the “nearly men”, but could now become legends by winning the club’s first trophy in 30 years. In front of Prince William, the heir to the throne, Europa League king Unai Emery has reached another showpiece event and Villa are dreaming of writing some history. It has been more than 10,000 days since they last lifted silverware with their League Cup triumph of 1996, but they will face Freiburg in the final later this month with Emery targeting his fifth trophy in the competition.
Prince William wildly celebrated in the directors’ box and then the dressing room after the match as Villa swatted Nottingham Forest aside with ruthless efficiency. Villa had lost two previous semi-finals under Emery in successive years, in the Conference League and FA Cup, but a hat-trick never appeared remotely possible. Emery’s team were rampant in the final stages, with inspirational captain John McGinn putting the gloss on a fine evening with two late goals.
McGinn has spoken openly about those painful semi-final defeats but could lift the trophy if Villa can defeat their Bundesliga opponents in Istanbul on May 20. With Emery in charge, few would bet against them as they prepare for a first European final since 1982. Ollie Watkins, the scorer of the first goal, said: “There’s no better manager than him to get us prepared for this game and take us into the final.
His track record speaks for itself. “We’re in a great position but we need to go and win it now. After the performance against Tottenham, everyone’s mind was on this game.
” Ollie Watkins soldiered on after an early head injury to level the tie on aggregate - Ian Cook /CameraSport via Getty Images What a night this was for Emery, who was subjected to rare criticism from supporters just five days ago. Indeed, he has not endured many negative moments since his appointment over three-and-a-half years ago. There have been a few surprise results and mini-stumbles in form, but the anger which accompanied Sunday’s home defeat by Tottenham was unprecedented.
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