Freybury 0-3 Aston Villa: Unai Emery won his fifth Europa League final with goals from Morgan Rodgers, Youri Tielemans and Immy Buendia.

The amount of emery Aston Villa Revolution cannot be underestimated.

In the year When the Spaniard took over on 1 November 2022, Villa were 16th in the Premier League – two places and one point above the relegation zone.

They won 15 of their 25 league games and finished in seventh place for the first time since 2010-11.

In his first full season, Emery secured Champions League football for Villa for the first time since 1982–83. His team won 15 consecutive home league games – the most in its 151-year history.

And now, with Champions League football reasserted, Villa are champions of the continent for the first time in a generation.

Former Villa midfielder Mark Albright told BBC Radio 5 Live that Emery had taken Villa to the next level.

“There are going to be highs and lows, that’s the nature of football.

“Villa have had some of these lows but now they are at the top. Unai Emery was a step up from what they had before.”

Another former Villa player, Ashley Young, told Radio 5 Live: “Unai Emery came in. Aston Villathe players have seen what he has done in his life, the Europa Leagues he has won and the clubs he has managed.

“Emery is a born winner, especially as he has shown it time and time again in this competition, putting his name alongside Ancelotti and Mourinho.

“He took this club back to Europe and into the Champions League. If you had said when we were 16th in the Premier League that we would win the Europa League, not a single player would have thought it was true. He just has a way.”

There are many teams now with managers who work the way Emery does, who study what they learn and stay up late watching football.

But Emery keeps going one step ahead – as he always does.