Aston Villa ended a 44-year wait for European silverware on Wednesday night, defeating Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul to lift the UEFA Europa League — and the celebrations included royalty, a heroic goalkeeper, and Champions League ambitions.

Goals flow in Istanbul

Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia, and Morgan Rogers were the names on the scoresheet as Villa eased to a commanding victory. The result was never in doubt, with Freiburg managing a combined Expected Goals tally of just 0.24 across the entire match.

Martinez's remarkable night

The defining subplot of the evening, however, centred on goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who broke his finger during the warm-up and still took to the field — making two saves in the process while keeping a clean sheet.