Why Freiburg will beat Aston Villa to win the UEFA Europa League
After producing an impressive fightback to overcome Braga 4-3 on aggregate to reach the UEFA Europa League final, Freiburg have every reason to believe they can go all the way and lift a first piece of major silverware against Aston Villa in Istanbul…
Freiburg narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification in 2024/25 for the second time in three seasons, but rather than feel sorry for themselves, they have moved to within touching distance of European glory.
Their form in this competition, in particular, has been nothing short of remarkable. They went unbeaten across their first seven games in the league phase, beating the likes of perennial Champions League participants Red Bull Salzburg, and finished in the top eight.
A 1-0 defeat to Genk in the first leg of their round of 16 tie did nothing to dent their confidence as they hammered their Belgian opponents 5-1 in the return fixture. Then, they brushed Celta Vigo aside in the quarter-finals, winning 6-1 on aggregate and prevailing comfortably both home and away.
Freiburg again demonstrated their comeback abilities in the semi-finals, overturning a 2-1 first-leg deficit to Braga to win 4-3 on aggregate. A double from Lukas Kübler and a Johan Manzambi curler put them in control. Braga did pull one back after 79 minutes, but Freiburg held on to reach the final.
Julian Schuster's men have impressed going forward, finding the back of the net 25 times across their 14 matches – only fellow finalists Aston Villa have scored more often (28) – but it is at the back where they have really shone.
Only Viktoria Plzeň, Crvena Zvezda, Lyon and Villa have conceded fewer than Freiburg’s 10 goals in the competition this term, and the Black Forest club have played four more games than all those sides apart from Unai Emery’s charges. Indeed, Braga are the only team to breach Freiburg’s backline on more than one occasion in a single game - and they needed a stoppage-time effort to do so.
There have been numerous strong performers, but veteran defender Matthias Ginter has shown all of his class and experience. Now 32 years old, he has not missed a minute in the Europa League and has even popped up with a couple of goals in the knockout stages. Such has been his form that there have even been suggestions he could be in contention for a place in Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad for the 2026 World Cup.
At the other end, Freiburg’s all-time top scorer Vincenzo Grifo remains a major threat with nine Europa League goal involvements this season - including Die Breisgauer’s equaliser against Braga in the first leg - while Igor Matanović has also scored twice during the knockout stages. Flanked by other key performers such as Manzambi, who scored the goal to give Freiburg an aggregate lead in the semis, Schuster’s side have all the weapons to hurt any opponent.
That has been illustrated by their wider form in recent weeks. In their past 13 games, only Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, second-placed Borussia Dortmund and Braga have managed to get the better of Freiburg in 90 minutes, with VfB Stuttgart needing a late extra-time winner to deny Schuster’s charges a place in the DFB Cup final.
Watch: Grifo's glorious strike in FC 26
While this may be Freiburg’s deepest run in a UEFA competition, this team is no stranger to the latter stages of cup competitions. In the DFB Cup, they reached the last four for the third time in five seasons this term before losing to Stuttgart. They were beaten at the same stage by RB Leipzig in 2022/23, but their closest brush with glory came a season earlier, when they were defeated by the same opponents in the final on penalties.
Seven players who started that shootout loss in 2022 were in the squad to face Braga. This team has been battle-hardened by their previous heartbreaks and will not be overawed by any occasion. Instead, they will have extra motivation to overcome Villa in the final in Istanbul.
Speaking after Freiburg’s semi-final win, Ginter said: “We just need to take that final step now. We’ve come this far. We’re now facing the most important match in the club’s history, and we’re determined to win it. For Freiburg, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The whole day, the atmosphere – it was incredible.”
