Freiburg v Aston Villa: Europa League final – live

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Unai Emery is hoping to make it five wins from six Europa League final appearances tonight. Here’s his story so far.

Q: Do you have time to kill before kick-off?
A: Yes.

Preamble

Aston Villa have won two European trophies in their history. And no we’re not counting the Intertoto Cup. Dignity, my friends, dignity. The first, and quite obviously the most special, is the 1982 European Cup, inspired by Ron Saunders but actually won by Tony Barton and Peter Withe. You can relive, rediscover or just read about that with David Lacey’s match report …

… and Ben Fisher’s nostalgic chat with the players.

A glorious victory that will never get old. Though is it as downright hilarious as their dismantling in the Super Cup the following year of Barcelona, who in the 1980s were a rugged shower of galoots and hoodlums?

No of course it’s not. Glory days. But it’s long past the time Villa had another major European victory to celebrate. Can they turn Istanbul into Astonbul? They’re favourites to beat Freiburg tonight, and it doesn’t harm that their boss, Unai Emery, is also the guvnor of the Europa League, having won it four times already for Sevilla and Villarreal. Can John McGinn join Dennis Mortimer and Ken McNaught in hoisting some continental silver for the Villa? We’ll find out soon enough. Kick-off at Beşiktaş Stadyumu is at 8pm BST. It’s on!