Buendia brilliant as EL king Emery ends Villa's trophy drought

Emiliano Buendia Aston Villa Freiburg ratings GFX

Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers all scored great goals as Aston Villa claimed their first major honour in three decades by defeating Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday night. Unai Emery's men had gone into the game in Istanbul as heavy favourites - not least because their Spanish coach had already lifted the trophy four times - and, towards the tail end of a tense first half, they underlined their vastly superior quality with two sensational strikes.

The first came courtesy of Tielemans, who demonstrated perfect timing and technique in smashing home a volley from just inside the area after Villa had initially gone short with a corner.

Just four minutes later, the English outfit struck again - and in equally spectacular fashion, with Buendia bending the ball into the top right corner of the Freiburg net after being found in some space by John McGinn.

Villa then put the result beyond all doubt just before the hour mark, when Rogers finished off a terrific team goal featuring a wonderful bit of wing play from Buendia, who could - and probably should - have capped a virtuoso display with a second goal late on.

Below, GOAL rates all of the Villa players involved in the club's first continental triumph since they won the European Cup all the way back in 1982...

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Goalkeeper & Defence

Emiliano Martinez (7/10):

Despite rumours that the Argentine had injured himself in the warm-up, the Argentine took to the field and, one nervy moment aside in the second half, never looked remotely like conceding.

Matty Cash (6/10):

The right-back was left walking a tight-rope after picking up an early yellow card for a reckless challenge but he handled the situation impeccably, even if his passing was poor at times.

Ezri Konsa (8/10):

A very comfortable evening for Konsa, who took care of business when required, making a couple of important clearances, while at the same time distributing the ball swiftly and accurately. The centre-back was also a threat at the other end of the field.

Pau Torres (7/10):

The Spaniard enjoyed an armchair ride alongside Konsa but also made a few crucial interventions of his own, most notably when he denied Philipp Lienhart a clear sight of goal.

Lucas Digne (6/10):

A solid showing from the left-back, who didn't really offer much going forward, but carried out his defensive duties diligently.

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Midfield

Victor Lindelof (7/10):

The former Manchester United centre-back has been a revelation for Villa in midfield and turned in another fine display in Istanbul, doing an excellent job of protecting the back four.

Youri Tielemans (8/10):

Displayed his usual mix of technique and tenacity in midfield and the crucial breakthrough four minutes before the break with a volley that was unsurprisingly flawlessly executed.

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Attack

John McGinn (7/10):

An unurprisingly dynamic display from the Scottish force of nature, who created the second goal with a well-weighted ball inside for Buendia and was a threat throughout.

Morgan Rogers (8/10):

Looked on it right from the first whistle and went close to scoring with just three minutes gone. His lofted ball into the box for Tielemans' volley was absolutely sublime and he fully deserved his second-half tap-in after a clever near-post run.

Emiliano Buendia (9/10):

Booked early on for a stray arm into the face of Niklas Beste but the always-composed Argentine didn't let it bother him and he doubled Villa's lead with a delightful curling effort from the edge of the area before creating Villa's third for Rogers with some wonderful wing play. Loses one mark for failing to score after being put through in the closing stages!

Ollie Watkins (7/10):

Did a fine job leading the line up front. Actually starved of quality possession for a long stretch of the first half but caused Freiburg's back four problems with his physicality and movement, which created space for team-mates.

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Subs & Manager

Amadou Onana (6/10):

Introduced in place of Lindelof midway through the second half and went close to scoring with an effort that struck the post.

Ian Maatsen (N/A):

Brought on in place of Digne in the 81st minute.

Jadon Sancho (N/A):

Replaced man of the match Bunedia with just 10 minutes to go.

Tyrone Mings (N/A):

Only brought on for the dying minutes.

Douglas Luiz (N/A):

Took over from Tielemans in midfield for what little there was of injury time

Unai Emery (9/10):

What more can you say about the King of the Europa League?! He got his selection spot on and ended up lifting the trophy for a fifth time as a result. The job he's done since succeeding Steven Gerrard as Villa boss is truly remarkable.