Unai Emery has done it again. The Spanish manager, long dubbed ‘Mr Europa League’, guided Aston Villa into the final of the competition on Thursday night with a ruthless 4-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest at Villa Park, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit in emphatic fashion. Victory was scripted not by luck but by meticulous planning: Emery’s side pressed high, exploited Forest’s uncharacteristic defensive lapses, and never allowed the visitors to settle. Viewed from Birmingham, the triumph represents the culmination of a season in which Villa have reasserted themselves as a serious force in English and European football, climbing to fifth in the Premier League while chasing continental silverware.

The first leg had left Villa nursing a slender disadvantage, courtesy of Chris Wood’s penalty. But inside 36 minutes of the return, Ollie Watkins levelled the aggregate scores, and after the interval Emiliano Buendía converted a spot-kick to tilt the tie decisively in Villa’s favour. John McGinn then added two late goals — both clinical finishes from similar positions — to seal a 4-1 aggregate win. Forest, who had arrived on a ten-match unbeaten run, were unable to replicate the form that had brought them a memorable league victory over Chelsea days earlier. The absence of Morgan Gibbs-White, nursing a facial wound and restricted to the bench after failing a late fitness test, deprived them of their creative fulcrum; his presence might have altered the tie’s tempo.

Emery’s record in this competition now borders on the mythical. He has reached six finals — three with Sevilla, one with Villarreal, one with Arsenal, and now one with Villa — and won four of the previous five. The 54-year-old’s ability to impose a coherent tactical structure on different squads has earned him comparisons to the great cup specialists of the modern era. From the perspective of South America, the match also carried resonance: Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez delivered another commanding performance in goal for Villa, his reflexes and composure underpinning the clean sheet that nullified Forest’s early threat. Argentine media noted that with the World Cup only two months away, Martínez’s form offers Lionel Scaloni reassurance between the posts.

The final will be played on 20 May at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul, where Villa face SC Freiburg. The Bundesliga side secured their place by overturning a first-leg deficit of their own, beating Sporting Braga 3-1 at home to advance 4-3 on aggregate. Analysts in London observe that Freiburg, disciplined and organised but lacking European final experience, may struggle against Villa’s momentum and Emery’s tactical nous. Yet the Spaniard himself will caution against complacency: his sole final defeat came with Arsenal in 2019. For Villa, the chance to win a major European trophy for the first time since 1982 represents a landmark moment in the club’s revival under Unai Emery — a manager who, once again, has a plan.