SC Freiburg’s Europa League Dream Shattered by Aston Villa in Final

Disappointed European Cup heroes, including Matthias Ginter, stood with blank stares next to the jubilant Aston Villa players, while successful coach Julian Schuster attempted to lift the team’s spirits. SC Freiburg’s dream of a major Europa League triumph has been dashed. In a 0-3 (0-2) defeat in Istanbul, the English club showed the ‘smaller’ Sport-Club their limits.

Despite Freiburg’s fantastic journey, Schuster expressed his disappointment after the final whistle. «For now, I feel no satisfaction. We lost a final, and that overshadows everything at the moment and hurts a lot,» he said to RTL, having already removed his silver medal. «For 40 minutes, it was okay. When you let a game slip away like that, it’s very tough.»

Goals from Youri Tielemans (41′), Emiliano Buendia (45’+3) with two spectacular strikes, and Morgan Rogers (58′) crushed the Sport-Club’s hopes, and the magical night they had longed for did not materialize.

The Bundesliga side initially kept pace but fell behind due to two strong plays from the favored opponent and could not recover. In an atmospheric final, the Sport-Club also missed out on their first-ever Champions League qualification, which would have been secured by winning the title. Instead, after finishing seventh in the Bundesliga, they will compete in the Conference League.

Villas coach Unai Emery cemented his place among the greats with his fifth title. Only Giovanni Trapattoni, Carlo Ancelotti, and José Mourinho had previously achieved five European Cup victories. The Birmingham club celebrated their first Europa League win and their first European Cup triumph since 1982, when they defeated Bayern Munich in the final.

On the stands, devoted fan Prince William supported his beloved Aston Villa, while a host of German football dignitaries cheered for SC Freiburg. National coach Julian Nagelsmann, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, and the DFL leadership, including Hans-Joachim Watzke, Marc Lenz, and Steffen Merkel, traveled to the Turkish metropolis. Club legends Christian Streich and Joachim Löw were also present. On the stands, 11,000 traveling Freiburg fans set the tone.

As early as the afternoon, supporters had begun to celebrate in the city, traveling on party boats across the Bosphorus and singing their fan songs in the pubs of the narrow streets in the Besiktas district. «We will give everything for them too,» announced captain Christian Günter. «It will be a special day for us and the club. We are simply looking forward to it and want to lift the trophy in the end.»

Freiburg Remains Powerless Against Aston Villa

The ‘smaller’ Sport-Club had no intention of hiding in their first-ever encounter with the English club. «We want to start well and play our game,» said defensive leader Matthias Ginter before the match to RTL, but he also acknowledged the opponent’s strength.

Freiburg implemented their plan, not holding back, and had an early chance with a header from Igor Matanović within seconds. However, Villa immediately showed their danger, with Ollie Watkins testing SC keeper Noah Atubolu with a powerful shot after 123 seconds. Rogers’ long-range effort (10′) also came close – Villa was settling into the game better.

Freiburg started nervously with several simple errors but then found their rhythm through set pieces. Nicolas Höfler, playing his last professional match, shot just wide after a free-kick (17′). Freiburg slowly but surely gained control, and for a long period, neither team created clear chances, with many interruptions due to fouls. A shot from Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi (34′) that lacked placement was notable.

The Bundesliga side threw themselves in front of every English shot – and were powerless just before halftime. After a short corner routine, Rogers crossed to Tielemans, who scored with a perfect volley. As Freiburg tried to hold on until halftime, Buendia curled the ball perfectly into the far corner.

After the break, Villa initially let Freiburg have possession, but a quick counter-attack was enough to decide the game. Buendia crossed low to the near post, Rogers evaded a weak challenge from Philipp Lienhart and poked the ball into the near corner. The will of SC was broken.

SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa LIVE: The Europa League Final Recapped in the Liveticker

SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa LIVE: The Europa League Final Today in the Liveticker — 2nd Half

90’+1: Full time!

88′: Mings and Douglas Luiz enter the field for Villa. Torres and Tielemans are substituted off.

86′: Günter comes on for a few minutes. Beste leaves the field.

84′: Almost 1-3! A Freiburg free-kick flies deep into the opponent’s penalty area, where Manzambi heads towards goal. However, Martinez is still able to get his hands to it. Then the offside flag is raised as Manzambi was offside.

81′: Buendia and Digne are substituted. Former Dortmund players Maatsen and Sancho come on.

76′: The class difference is evident in this situation as well: McGinn passes to Tielemans, who lays it off directly into Buendia’s path. He stands a few meters clear in front of Atubolu’s goal but shoots wide. That should have been 4-0.

73′: Kübler and Grifo are taken off. Makengo and Scherhant enter the field.

72′: What Freiburg is showing offensively is simply too harmless. The Bundesliga side is not posing any threat and cannot create chances.

69′: The English start their next attack through Watkins, but Ginter intervenes.

66′: Villa also makes a substitution: Onana comes on for Lindelöf.

64′: Time is running out for Freiburg. A major miracle is now needed.

61′: Double substitution for Freiburg: Rosenfelder and Höler replace Lienhart and Höfler.

58′: GOAL! SC Freiburg vs. ASTON VILLA 0:3! Freiburg leaves too much space on the left, allowing Buendia to get past Kübler. His low cross is slightly deflected and lands at the feet of Rogers at the near post, who taps it into the near corner from close range.**

54′: The English create another good opportunity, but the long ball to Watkins is slightly too far.

50′: Villa presses high, forcing Freiburg into build-up errors. Buendia capitalizes on this and attempts a lob, but Atubolu recognizes the situation in time and safely collects the ball.

48′: McGinn slides in on Treu from behind but is not shown a card.

46′: We are back underway. Both teams return from the break unchanged.

SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa LIVE: The Europa League Final Today in the Liveticker — Halftime Break

For a long time, Freiburg and Villa were evenly matched. Both defenses were stable and allowed almost nothing at the back. In the 21st minute, Cash was very fortunate not to receive a red card for his foul with a stretched leg on Grifo. From the 35th minute onwards, Aston Villa gradually took control of the game: Tielemans first scored a spectacular volley to take the lead, and shortly after, Buendia added to it to make it 2-0. Freiburg now has 45 minutes to turn the game around.

SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa LIVE: The Europa League Final Today in the Liveticker — 1st Half

45’+3: Halftime.

45’+3: GOAL! SC Freiburg vs. ASTON VILLA 0:2! Villa crowns their pressure phase with another dream goal. McGinn lays the ball inside to Buendía on the sideline, who turns, cuts inside, and spectacularly fires the ball into the far corner, again unstoppable for Atubolu.**

45’+1: Three minutes of added time.

42′: GOAL! SC Freiburg vs. ASTON VILLA 0:1! Villa takes the corner short and plays it on to Rogers. His cross sails to the edge of the box, where Tielemans runs in completely unmarked and powerfully volleys the ball into the far corner. Unstoppable for Atubolu.**

40′: Manzambi remains Freiburg’s most active player. He reaches the byline and delivers a sharp cross, but it sails past everyone.

38′: Lindelöf steps on Manzambi’s foot and causes him pain. The Freiburg player initially stays down but can continue playing.

34′: Strong ball recovery by Manzambi. He immediately gets the ball back from Matanovic, has plenty of space, and registers the first shot on goal for the Breisgau team. The ball bounces awkwardly in front of Martinez, but the Argentine secures it.

32′: Neither team is achieving much offensively at the moment.

28′: In the next action, Watkins is again played through. He lets the ball run, Lienhart defends physically well, so Atubolu only has to collect the ball.

25′: The English repeatedly look for the direct path forward with long balls to Watkins – so far without success.

21′: Cash receives the next yellow card of the match for a heavy foul on Grifo with a stretched leg. One could have considered more. The VAR is not reviewing the situation.

18′: The subsequent free-kick is very dangerous. Villa cannot clear the high ball into the box effectively; the second ball lands in front of Höfler, who shoots with his left foot and narrowly misses the goal. What a legendary farewell that would have been if he had scored in the final. But he still has plenty of time.

16′: Buendia tries to create space and catches Beste with his elbow to the face. The Freiburg player stays down briefly but can continue playing quickly. Buendia receives a yellow card for his offense.

13′: There is no sign of feeling out the opponent. The tackles are already quite robust.

10′: Rogers doesn’t hesitate and shoots from the second row, narrowly missing the goal.

9′: Villa’s first sustained period of possession. Freiburg briefly regains the ball, but then Atubolu has to bail out Lienhart’s mistake.

5′: McGinn shields the ball strongly with his body and creates some space against Treu. Treu can only stop him with a foul – otherwise, McGinn would have been through. Treu receives a yellow card for his foul.

3′: On the other side, there is the first shot by Rogers, who precisely targets the far corner. However, Atubolu is alert and saves securely.

1′: Freiburg is immediately wide awake: Eggestein wins the ball in the opponent’s half. The cross from the right sails into the penalty area, but Matanovic heads wide.

1′: The ball is rolling. French referee Francois Letexier is in charge of the match.

SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa LIVE: The Europa League Final Today in the Liveticker — Before the Match

Before the match: Before things get serious on the pitch, a short show ensures the right atmosphere for the final.

Before the match: At the Aston Villa sideline stands Unai Emery, the most successful coach in Europa League history. He has won the competition four times – three times with FC Sevilla and most recently in the 2020/21 season with Villarreal.

Before the match: Freiburg secured their ticket to the final with a 4-3 aggregate win against Braga. Aston Villa, on the other hand, made short work of their Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest (4-1 aggregate).

Before the match: At Aston Villa, former Dortmund player Jadon Sancho will initially be on the bench.

Before the match: Surprisingly, Nicolas Höfler is in the starting lineup for the final. The veteran has not played more than 500 minutes in all competitions this season but has seen more game time in recent weeks. The final is doubly emotional, as the 36-year-old will end his career after the season – after today’s match.

Before the match: The lineups are here. This is how Freiburg is starting: Atubolu — Kübler, Ginter, Lienhart, Treu — M. Eggestein, Höfler, Beste, Manzambi, Grifo — Matanovic.

Before the match: The final will kick off at 9 PM and will be held at the Tpras Stadium in Istanbul.

Before the match: Hello and welcome to the Europa League final between SC Freiburg and Aston Villa.

SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa LIVE: The Europa League Final Today on TV and Livestream

The broadcasting rights for the final are also held by the RTL media group. While previous matches were shown on NITRO, among others, the final will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV on RTL today. The pre-match coverage on the private channel starts at 8:15 PM. In parallel, the match between Freiburg and Aston Villa will also be available as a paid livestream on RTL+.

SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa LIVE: The Europa League Final Today in the Liveticker — Overview of the Last Ten Winners