Villa Urges Turning Europa League Final Pressure Into Positive Performance, Emery Says

Aston Villa head into the Europa League final with Unai Emery urging the squad to treat the pressure as a strength rather than a burden. Villa meet Bundesliga side Freiburg at Tupras Stadyumu on Wednesday, with both clubs chasing European silverware and seeking to handle a rare stage in their histories.

Emery believes the group’s recent experience in deep cup runs can guide Aston Villa through this Europa League final test. Villa have reached advanced rounds in the FA Cup and Conference League under Emery, and the head coach wants those demanding nights to shape how the squad approach this latest challenge.

Describing the psychological side, Emery stressed how Aston Villa must control emotions when entering the Europa League final. Emery said: "Now is a new experience that we will have, and it is important in our structure how we are managing our emotions. We have played a lot of matches and had a lot of emotions," said Emery.

Emery expanded on how Aston Villa should treat the Europa League final pressure as a privilege rather than a threat. Emery said: "The pressure is here as well, but we must try to understand the pressure as something positive not negative and the pressure is when you are playing for something important. We have experience here, Emi [Martinez], John [McGinn], we have a lot of experience. Our experiences here are the most important. We are here together. We are doing it this way. Understanding how difficult it was to get here. We have to play with personality, with confidence and to do that we have to play with intensity."

This Europa League final is the first ever meeting between Aston Villa and Freiburg, adding a fresh tactical element for both coaches. It is also the first Europa League showpiece between teams facing each other for the first time since 2019-20, when Sevilla defeated Inter 3-2 in a dramatic contest.

Aston Villa appear in only the second major European final in the club’s history, and the first since 1982. Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the European Cup final that year. The gap between those finals is exceeded only by Manchester City, whose first two European finals came in 1970 and 2021.

Emery’s track record in this competition adds further focus to the Europa League final narrative. Emery has already led teams into five major European finals, all in the Europa League, winning three with Sevilla in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16, then adding another success with Villarreal in 2020-21, while losing with Arsenal in 2018-19.

This sixth appearance moves Emery level with Carlo Ancelotti, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho for major European finals coached, leaving only Giovanni Trapattoni ahead on seven. If Aston Villa beat Freiburg in the Europa League final, Emery will join Trapattoni, Ancelotti and Mourinho on five major European final victories.

Villa’s form in Europe under Emery has been strong across the 2023-24 campaign. Since the start of that season, no club has collected more wins in major European competition than Aston Villa, with 26 victories. Only Arsenal, with 19 shutouts, have kept more clean sheets in the same period than Villa’s 16.

Aston Villa also hold a positive recent record against Bundesliga opposition before this Europa League final. Last season’s Champions League schedule brought wins against Bayern, 1-0, and RB Leipzig, 3-2. Villa’s last defeat to a German side in Europe came back in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup, when Hamburg earned a 3-1 victory.

With a historic gap between their European finals and a coach with deep Europa League final experience, Aston Villa approach Freiburg with a blend of momentum and caution. Emery’s focus on emotion, intensity and collective experience shapes Villa’s preparation as both clubs seek a rare continental trophy at Tupras Stadyumu.