Istanbul, May 21 -- Aston Villa ended a 44-year wait for European glory in emphatic fashion, defeating SC Freiburg 3-0 in the UEFA Europa League final at Besiktas Park to lift their first major continental trophy since the 1982 European Cup.

The victory also marked manager Unai Emery's fifth Europa League triumph, underlining his reputation as one of the competition's greatest tacticians, according to ESPN.

Wearing an all-white strip in tribute to the club's iconic 1982 European Cup-winning side, Villa made an aggressive start and nearly struck inside two minutes. Morgan Rogers forced Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu into an early save with a powerful low drive as the Premier League side immediately asserted control.

Freiburg, playing ...