Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul to win the Europa League on Wednesday night, capping a great season for Unai Emery's club. And now he has Manchester City in his sights.
Unai Emery celebrates after Aston Villa win the Europa League
Unai Emery celebrates after Aston Villa win the Europa League(Image: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
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Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has challenged his club to compete with Manchester City and Arsenal for the Premier League title next season. Villa comfortably beat Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday to seal their first major trophy since 1996.
Youri Tielemans fired Villa ahead five minutes before the break and Emi Buendia made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time. Morgan Rogers' close-range finish made it 3-0 just before the hour mark to secure a comfortable win. After the game, Emery, who has won the Europa League a remarkable five times, called on Villa to take the next step.
"I am myself ambitious, and, of course, I need support," he told TNT Sports. "The owners, everyone that works in the club. The players, and they are following us. We are doing it together.
"Every step forward we are doing makes sense. This final is confirmation of how we are progressing. Next year we will play in Champions League, and this is the challenge. The Premier League is the most difficult league in the world. To be fighting top seven, top five, top four is something very difficult. Hopefully, we can be close with teams like City and Arsenal."
Villa will celebrate their Europa League success with a parade in Birmingham city centre on Thursday evening. They will then have a full training session on Friday before travelling up to Manchester on Saturday for the final game against City.
The Etihad Stadium will set a new attendance record for the game with the new North Stand set to be at full capacity for the first time. It will be an emotional afternoon for the Blues as they bid farewell to club legends.
Bernardo Silva and John Stones will play their final games for City on Sunday after they both confirmed their exits at the end of the season. Head coach Pep Guardiola also looks set to say his goodbyes this weekend.
Guardiola is set to leave City at the end of the season. The City head coach said on Tuesday night he would discuss his future with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak before the game against Villa.