19.05.2026 22:30
In the Europa League hosted by the Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul, the final where Birmingham's representative Aston Villa will face Freiburg will go down in history. Both teams will compete against each other to become champions in this cup for the first time.
The excitement of the 55th season's final of the UEFA Europa League, the second most important club-level organization in European football, will take place tomorrow.
HISTORIC FINAL IN ISTANBUL
German representative Freiburg and English side Aston Villa will face each other in the final match hosted by Beşiktaş Park. The match, which will start at 22:00, will be officiated by French referee François Letexier. Letexier's assistants will be Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni. The fourth official for the match will be Alejandro Hernandez from the Spanish Football Federation. Jérôme Brisard from France will be in charge of VAR for the final. Freiburg and Aston Villa have never faced each other in official matches before. The two teams will meet for the first time in an official competition.
ASTON VILLA'S FINAL JOURNEY
Aston Villa finished the league stage of the Europa League this season in second place on goal difference behind Lyon, with 21 points from 7 wins and 1 loss. Unai Emery's team eliminated Lille in the Round of 16 with scores of 1-0 and 2-0, and then defeated Bologna 3-1 and 4-0 in the quarter-finals. After losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the semi-final, Aston Villa won the return leg 4-0 to secure their place in the final. The Birmingham representative also faced Fenerbahçe in Istanbul during the league stage and won 1-0. The English side scored 28 goals in the Europa League this season while conceding 8.
FREIBURG'S FINAL JOURNEY
Freiburg completed the league stage with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, finishing 7th with 17 points. The German side, after losing the first leg 1-0 to Genk in the Round of 16, eliminated them with a 5-1 win in the return leg. In the quarter-finals, they defeated Celta Vigo 3-0 and 3-1 to reach the semi-finals. Julian Schuster's students, after losing the first semi-final match 2-1 to Braga, beat them 3-1 in the second leg to earn the right to compete in the final. Freiburg scored 25 goals in the Europa League this season and conceded 10.
BOTH TEAMS AIM FOR FIRST EUROPEAN CUP
Freiburg and Aston Villa will compete to win the UEFA Europa League for the first time. English representative Aston Villa has won the European Champion Clubs' Cup in the 1981-1982 season, the UEFA Super Cup in the 1982-1983 season, and the UEFA Intertoto Cup in the 2001-2002 season, while German side Freiburg has yet to achieve success in European cup history.
GERMANS AND ENGLISH FACE OFF IN FINAL FOR SECOND TIME
German and English teams have faced each other only once before in a Europa League final. The two countries' teams met in the 1973 final of the then-named UEFA Cup between Liverpool and Borussia Mönchengladbach. Liverpool, having won the first leg of the two-legged final 3-0, took the trophy despite losing the return leg 2-0. The two countries' teams will face each other in the Europa League final after 53 years, this time in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, from England, Liverpool and Tottenham (3), Chelsea (2), Manchester United and Ipswich Town (1) have previously won the cup, while from Germany, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt (2), Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04, and Bayern Munich (1) have achieved victory.
SEVILLA HAS WON THE EUROPA LEAGUE CUP THE MOST
Sevilla, having played in the UEFA Europa League final 7 times and winning all 7, is the most successful team in the tournament. The Spanish representative took the second most important cup in Europe home in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, and 2023.
SPANISH TEAMS' SUCCESS STANDS OUT
Spanish teams have won the tournament, originally organized as the UEFA Cup and renamed the UEFA Europa League from the 2009-2010 season onwards, a total of 14 times. In the organization, English and Italian teams have won 10 times, Germans 7, Dutch 4, Portuguese, Russians, and Swedes 2 each, and Belgians, Ukrainians, and Turks once each. In Europe's second biggest club cup, 62 different teams have played in the final to date, and 30 different clubs have succeeded in taking the cup home.
BEŞİKTAŞ PARK TO HOST EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL FOR FIRST TIME
A UEFA Europa League final will be played at Beşiktaş Park for the first time. The stadium, with a capacity of approximately 43,000, previously hosted the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final. The match between Liverpool and Chelsea on August 14, 2019, which ended 2-2 after regular time and extra time, was won 5-4 by Liverpool on penalties.