Key events<\/p>\n
Show key events only<\/p>\n
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n
23 min: VAR is anyone\u2019s guess these days, and this time doesn\u2019t bother getting involved. Cash gets away with it. His studs caught Grifo well up the leg. Not with too much force, which is probably what saved him. But as we say, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess. Grifo gets up after some attention from the physio, and the resulting free kick is a waste of time.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 21 min: Cash flies in late on Grifo and high-kicks him, studs on shin. He\u2019s booked. That wasn\u2019t a good challenge at all. He might be fortunate to avoid some further attention from the VAR.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 19 min: Tielemans plays a defence-splitter down the middle. The only problem is, Buendia and Watkins leave it to each other. Keeper\u2019s!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 17 min: \u2026 so it\u2019s another free kick from the same place out on the right. Again it\u2019s half cleared. This time the ball drops to H\u00f6fler, who drags a poor shot from the edge of the box wide right. Villa are fortunate Ginter couldn\u2019t get a touch on the ball to divert it goalwards.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15 min: Digne grapples Manzambi to the floor, and is fortunate not to see yellow, given what happened earlier to Treu. The free kick is sent into the Villa box from the right and cleared. Buendia competes for a high ball with Beste, who goes down having caught a trailing arm in the mush. Buendia goes into the book.<\/p>\n Emi Buendia is shown a yellow card by referee Francois Letexier. Photograph: Kemal Aslan\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.20 EDT<\/p>\n 13 min: \u201cIt\u2019s 13\/15 on the quiz for me, Scott,\u201d reports Simon McMahon. \u201cIf Villa don\u2019t do it tonight, I\u2019m sure that will at least be of some comfort to them and their fans. They\u2019ve got \u2018Super\u2019 John McGinn, though, so I think it\u2019ll be celebrations all round come full time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2026 and to illustrate that, McGinn, dropping deep to quarterback, spins and sprays a fine pass down the left to release Watkins into acres of space. It\u2019s a shame Watkins\u2019 attempted cutback goes nowhere near a white shirt. Freiburg<\/a> clear.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 11 min: Emi Martinez and his finger have outlasted Jimmy Rimmer by a good two minutes and counting.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 10 min: Lindelof plays a cute pass down the inside-left channel for Rogers, who takes a touch infield and curls a shot towards the top right. Just wide, but not by much, and Atubolu was backpedaling in a panic there.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 min: H\u00f6fler slightly scuffs a backpass down the Villa left, nearly letting Watkins in. Atubolu is forced to rush to the edge of his box and blooter out for a throw. From which \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 7 min: Now it\u2019s Freiburg\u2019s turn to go long. Grifo launches long, and Matanovi\u0107 barges into Konsa. The whistle goes. This game already feels like it\u2019s got goals in it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 min: McGinn spins Treu down the right touchline, and is crudely rugby-tackled around the waist by the Freiburg<\/a> left-back. Treu becomes the first name in the referee\u2019s notebook. \u201cThanks for sharing David Lacey\u2019s write-up of the 1982 final,\u201d begins Alex Adams. \u201cWonderfully old-school Graun, right down to only having to wait until the sixth word for a typo. Lovely stuff.\u201d We aim to plese.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 min: Watkins chases after a long ball down the middle. He takes it down and, after a bit of a grapple, gets the better of Lienhart. He\u2019s clear \u2026 but he then tops his shot, the ball rolling softly into the arms of Atubolu. And then the flag goes up for offside anyway.<\/p>\n Ollie Watkins can\u2019t quite get his shot away. Photograph: Berk \u00d6zkan\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.09 EDT<\/p>\n 2 min: Now it\u2019s Villa\u2019s turn to attack, and Rogers is sent into space down the right by Tielemans. He creams a low diagonal drive towards the bottom left, and Atubolu gets down to parry clear with a strong hand.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Aston Villa get the ball rolling \u2026 and are quickly pushed back by Freiburg, a ball coming in from the right, Matanovi\u0107 flashing a header wide. The German side making it immediately known that they don\u2019t intend to just make up the numbers.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The teams are out! Freiburg are the home team for administrative purposes, so they get to wear their first-choice European kit of red. That means Aston Villa<\/a> will play in white. Which is exactly what they wore against the red-shirted Bayern Munich in 1982. The good omens just keep on coming. A sensational atmosphere at Be\u015fikta\u015f Park in Istanbul as Vincenzo Grifo and John McGinn swap pennants and pleasantries. Not long now!<\/p>\n Photograph: Juanma\/UEFA\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.06 EDT<\/p>\n Unai Emery speaks to TNT Sports: \u201cDefinitely very normal routine [today] \u2026 analyse our performance \u2026 analyse our opponent \u2026 respect them a lot \u2026 now we focus \u2026 everywhere the fans travel with us \u2026 today is a special day for them \u2026 we do this for them \u2026 they enjoy it with heart \u2026 respect Europe \u2026 respect the opponent \u2026 completely focus in our game-plan \u2026 our personality \u2026 our identity \u2026 the players in the bench must have a good impact \u2026 we have options.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026 and hopefully we won\u2019t have to reference Jimmy Rimmer again this evening. Here\u2019s Ben Fisher \u2026<\/p>\n double quotation markThe teams have just been read aloud and Emi Martinez\u2019s name was the first to receive a massive cheer. At the end of the team news, Unai Emery\u2019s name is also given a huge reception.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n David Lacey \u2013 one of the genuine greats of sportswriting – was in Rotterdam to see Villa win the aforementioned 1982 European Cup final. Here\u2019s his report, in glorious new-fangled click-o-vision. (Thanks to the Guardian Research Department for sorting!)<\/p>\n David Lacey\u2019s match report of the 1982 European Cup final Photograph: The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.01 EDT<\/p>\n Pre-match postbag. \u201cVilla fan at the stadium. Both sets of fans have been fantastic. Brilliant venue on the river (apart from the capacity). Dying of nerves. Just win. They\u2019re good. We should be better but in a one-off game we\u2019ve proven to be brilliant and \u2026 v Spurs. I hope this is a stop in the journey up with Unai but being a Villa fan you always have that fear\u201d \u2013 David Bertram<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the edge of the Black Forest versus the gateway to the Black Country, the Breisgauern against the Brummies, Germany\u2019s eco-friendly Green City facing England\u2019s Second City! Breisgau-Brum Bash by the Bosphorus!\u201d \u2013 Peter Oh (but you\u2019d guessed that already, hadn\u2019t you)<\/p>\n \u201cThe quiz about English teams in European finals led me to reflect. As a boy\/teenager I supported every English team in a European final – yes, even Man Utd in 1968. Now, not so much: in fact I\u2019m not sure I want any of the English teams playing over the next few days to win. Is that because Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jimmy Rimmer de nos jours latest. \u201cMartinez has gone down the tunnel,\u201d reports Ben Fisher. \u201cThe other GKs are still warming up, though GKs usually head in early, don\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n Hmm. So much for that panic being over.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Villa have form for goalkeeper woes in European finals. Jimmy Rimmer went into the 1982 European Cup final with a sore neck, having taken a whack in training a couple of days before the match. He lasted nine minutes before giving way to 23-year-old substitute goalie Nigel Spink, who went on to have the match of his life. So all won\u2019t be lost should the worst happen to Martinez \u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 though our man on the spot, Ben Fisher, has just reported that \u201cthe glove is now back on and he\u2019s practising claiming crosses from coaches and the other goalkeepers.\u201d So panic over, for now at least.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Some concerning news for Villa, as keeper Emi Martinez appears to have a problem with his right hand. Our man in Istanbul, Ben Fisher, reports.<\/p>\n double quotation markEmi Martinez may have an issue here: Villa\u2019s goalkeeping coach, Javi Garcia, has just spent the past couple of minutes taping one of Martinez\u2019s fingers and now the Argentinian World Cup winner is continuing to warm up with his right goalie glove in his left hand. He looks very mobile, but it doesn\u2019t seem ideal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.24 EDT<\/p>\n This is the first time Aston Villa and Freiburg have met. Precedent enthusiasts must therefore look to previous matches against teams from the opponents\u2019 country. Villa have won their last two meetings against teams from Germany, having beaten Bayern Munich and Leipzig during the group phase of last season\u2019s Champions League. And of course they\u2019ll always have Rotterdam, where they saw off Bayern in the 1982 final. As for Freiburg, they\u2019ve played four matches against English opposition \u2026 and all of them were against West Ham in the 2023-24 Europa League! They went down 1-2 and 0-2 in the groups, won the first leg of a round-of-16 tie 1-0, then lost the second leg 0-5. So it\u2019s advantage Villa.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.19 EDT<\/p>\n \u2026 so that\u2019s the same Villa XI that started the second-leg win over Nottingham Forest, and last Friday\u2019s evisceration of Liverpool. Not a huge surprise: Villa scored four goals in both of those matches. Viktor Lindelof keeps his place in midfield, and that keeps Amadou Onana on the bench.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The teams<\/p>\n Freiburg: Atubolu, K\u00fcbler, Ginter, Lienhart, Treu, Eggestein, H\u00f6fler, Beste, Manzambi, Grifo, Matanovic. Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Lindelof, Rogers, Tielemans, Buendia, McGinn, Watkins. Referee: Fran\u00e7ois Letexier (France) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.59 EDT<\/p>\n Matty Cash \u2013 sporting a lovely tracksuit top with delicious 1982 Villa roundel \u2013 speaks to TNT Sports. \u201cReally loud \u2026 full of Villans everywhere \u2026 really excited \u2026 I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll be really loud all night \u2026 such a fantastic club \u2026 finally got itself back in European football \u2026 we\u2019ve got a great opportunity to give the fans what they deserve, a trophy back to Villa Park \u2026 we know what a big test it is \u2026 we\u2019re playing a really competitive team \u2026 we believe in [Unai Emery] \u2026 we watched one video today and one last night \u2026 it was an hour and a half, though!\u201d<\/p>\n Matty Cash chats to the crew on TNT Sports. Photograph: Adam Davy\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.06 EDT<\/p>\n This is a huge match for Aston Villa<\/a> all right \u2026 but for SC Freiburg, this represents the biggest occasion in the club\u2019s entire 121-year history. Freiburg have never won a major trophy \u2013 runners-up in the 2022 German cup final is as close as they\u2019ve come \u2013 so simply getting here is a huge achievement for Julian Schuster and his team. Andy Brassell runs the rule over the folk in Aston Villa\u2019s way.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Unai Emery is hoping to make it five wins from six Europa League<\/a> final appearances tonight. Here\u2019s his story so far.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Q: Do you have time to kill before kick-off? Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Aston Villa have won two European trophies in their history. And no we\u2019re 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\u2019s match report \u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 and Ben Fisher\u2019s nostalgic chat with the players.<\/p>\n 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?<\/p>\n No of course it\u2019s not. Glory days. But it\u2019s long past the time Villa had another major European victory to celebrate. Can they turn Istanbul into Astonbul? They\u2019re favourites to beat Freiburg tonight, and it doesn\u2019t harm that their boss, Unai Emery, is also the guvnor of the Europa League<\/a>, 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\u2019ll find out soon enough. Kick-off at Be\u015fikta\u015f Stadyumu is at 8pm BST. It\u2019s on!<\/p>\n
(a) I\u2019m bitter because my team has never won anything, so I don\u2019t want other English teams to win? Probably.
(b) supporting a team for so many years means you build up grievances against virtually every other team (don\u2019t get me started on Derby 1983)? Almost certainly.
(c) have I just become a grumpy old curmudgeon? Let\u2019s not go there.
Has anyone else observed this phenomenon?\u201d – Richard Hirst<\/p>\n
Subs: M\u00fcller, Huth, Jung, Osterhage, Scherhant, H\u00f6ler, Iri\u00e9, Philipp, G\u00fcnter, Makengo, Rosenfelder, Ogbus.<\/p>\n
Subs: Bizot, Wright, Mings, Elliott, Garcia, Abraham, Sancho, Luiz, Maatsen, Onana, Bogarde, Bailey.<\/p>\n
VAR: J\u00e9r\u00f4me Brisard (France)<\/p>\n
A: Yes.<\/p>\n