Aston Villa stormed into the UEFA Europa League final after a commanding 4-0 second-leg win over Nottingham Forest at Villa Park, sealing a 4-1 aggregate victory in the semi-finals on Thursday.
McGinn scored twice, while Emiliano Buendía starred as Villa booked a showdown against SC Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League final at Beşiktaş Park on May 20.
Villa, winners of the 1982 European Cup, have now reached their second major UEFA final. The Villans have not won a major trophy since 1996 and have lost four cup finals since then.
Although Omari Hutchinson curled an early effort just wide for the visitors, Villa dominated the opening exchanges without creating many clear-cut chances. Pau Torres forced Stefan Ortega into a save, while Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins also went close.
After Tielemans threatened from long range, the hosts finally found the breakthrough their efforts deserved. Buendía’s quick footwork took him past Jair Cunha and Elliot Anderson before he cut the ball back for Watkins to open the scoring.
Villa maintained the same intensity after the restart and were awarded a penalty when Nikola Milenković pulled Torres’ shirt inside the box. Buendía stepped up and emphatically converted past Ortega to put Unai Emery’s side firmly in control.
McGinn then put the tie beyond doubt with two quickfire goals. The Villa captain first curled in a superb left-footed finish from Watkins’ pass before scoring again three minutes later after being set up by Morgan Rogers.
Each goal sparked louder celebrations as Villa moved one step closer to securing what would be their third European trophy.
“I’m so, so proud of how we played the match. It’s something special to play a final in Istanbul and we can feel proud of how we achieved it. Now we have to enjoy the process, enjoy the final, prepare properly, and respect both the competition and Freiburg,” Emery said after the win.
(IANS)
