Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans revealed his superb opener in the 3-0 Europa League final victory over Freiburg was the result of just one day’s practice.
Tielemans blasted Villa into the lead late in the first half at the Besiktas Stadium on Wednesday with a fine finish straight off the training ground.
The Belgian midfielder made a perfectly-timed run to meet Morgan Rogers’ cross from a short corner and finished the move with a blistering volley from just inside the Freiburg area.
Unai Emery’s side struck again through another eye-catching goal on the stroke of half-time as Emiliano Buendia curled into the far corner from 18 yards.
Rogers’ second-half goal wrapped up Villa’s first trophy for 30 years and their first in Europe since 1982.
“I feel amazing. My voice is a bit gone but it’s all good. We put in a shift, top performance, we had a great season. To top it off with this, it’s amazing,” Tielemans said.
“We only had one day to practise, we did it on Monday and it went brilliantly tonight. So happy.”
Villa’s memorable finish to the season also included qualifying for the Champions League last week.
Tielemans admitted their success was a far cry from the dismal start to the campaign, which featured six winless games and only two goals scored.
“It’s amazing. It’s been a season with a lot of ups and downs. We started so so bad. Our standards were very poor,” he said.
“The way we turned things around was a credit to the players and staff.
“We kept working, believing. We got the win in the end, Champions League next season and a trophy.”
England midfielder Rogers added: “It’s hard to put into words, we’ve worked so hard for this. We’ve delivered and come through.
“It’s a great moment for the fans, great for the club. We’ll go down in history.
“The manager has been banging on at me to get easier goals and get into the box. I’m happy I could get a toe onto it and score.”
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Source: Sports Soccer – The Score EPL
