Prince William joined Aston Villa fans in wild celebrations in Istanbul as the club secured a 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the Europa League final, winning their first European silverware in 44 years. The Prince, a known Villa supporter, was seen cheering alongside other fans as goals from Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia, and Morgan Rogers sealed the win.
The victory marks manager Unai Emery's fifth Europa League title and his first trophy with Aston Villa. It is also the club's first major trophy in 30 years, since their League Cup win in 1996. Villa will celebrate with an open-top bus parade through Birmingham city centre on Thursday afternoon, starting at 4.30pm from Branston Street in the Jewellery Quarter.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez revealed he played through a broken finger sustained during the warm-up. Despite the injury, the 33-year-old made two saves to help secure the clean sheet. Martinez told ESPN, 'Today I broke my finger during warm-ups, but I didn't see it as a bad thing. These are just things you have to go through.'
Striker Ollie Watkins, who scored 19 goals this season, reflected on the club's transformation from relegation battlers to European champions. 'We were close to relegation and to come back and do this now and bring a trophy back to Birmingham is special,' he said. Defender Matty Cash praised Emery, calling him 'the king' after the Spaniard's tactical masterclass.
