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UEFA Europa League final LIVE - Build up to Freiburg v Aston Villa, reaction to Arsenal's Premier League title win
All the build-up to a huge night in Istanbul, as Aston Villa aim to end a 30-year wait for major silverware when they face Freiburg in Istanbul. We also have all the reaction after Arsenal secured the Premier League title last night.
By James Hilsum | Updated 20/05/2026 at 16:52 GMT+1
Timeline
Stream the Premier League, men’s and women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more live on TNT Sports and HBO Max
THANKS FOR TUNING IN
That's all for today. Now we will turn our full focus to the UEFA Europa League final, between Aston Villa and Freiburg.
15:54
A LOOK INSIDE THE VILLA DRESSING ROOM
Our cameras have taken a look inside the Villa dressing room tonight.
The Europa League trophy is in there already!
Will Villa's players be celebrating with it later this evening?
15:40
THE ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL
Aston Villa fan Prince William will be keeping a keen eye on proceedings in Istanbul tonight.
Here's footage of the heir to the throne speaking to Villa's players after that memorable semi-final second-leg win over Nottingham Forest.
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Moment: Prince William speaks to Cash and Digne after Aston Villa reach Europa League final
Video credit: TNT Sports
15:25
ANALYSING EMERY'S EUROPA LEAGUE FINALS RECORD
Unai Emery is ready to manage in his sixth Europa League final tonight, but how has he fared in the previous five?
Sanjay Suri recaps his previous exploits in the final of Europe's secondary cup competition after most recently leading Villarreal to success over Manchester United in 2021.
This also included a run of three successive Europa League titles between 2014 and 2016!
15:08
SNOWERS REFLECTS ON VILLA-FOREST SEMI
Our very own Ben 'Snowers' Snowball was at Villa Park to witness their 4-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest to book their place in tonight's Europa League final.
He gave his take on proceedings in this piece, and lauded the performance of captain John McGinn on the night.
He said: "John McGinn produced a captain's masterclass to fire Aston Villa into the UEFA Europa League final, leaving England hopeful Elliot Anderson and a shattered Nottingham Forest trailing in his wake.
"If we needed any reminder of why Aston Villa have demoted John to middle-name status, this was it. 'Super' John McGinn produced one of the great midfield displays Villa Park has seen in recent years to send the hosts into the Europa League final and score a mini victory for those north of the border in the eternal England v Scotland rivalry.
"McGinn was already a contender for player of the match before he arrowed one into the bottom-left corner, then another into the bottom-right shortly afterwards. In so doing, he upstaged Elliot Anderson - hyped as a potential £100 million transfer this summer - with an all-action performance laced with quality.
"From his first skirmish with Anderson in the 10th minute, it was obvious this was McGinn's night. No one has benefited more from Unai Emery's stewardship, with the Scot answering the Spaniard’s demands for more goals in a new attacking role and increasingly becoming Villa’s man for the biggest occasions."
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McGinn hails Watkins after landmark goal, leaps to defence of 'leader' Rogers
Video credit: TNT Sports
14:53
TNT PUNDITS PICK WHO WILL WIN THE FINAL
Peter Crouch, Joe Cole, Ally McCoist, Stiliyan Petrov and Fara Williams all predicted their winners of tomorrow's match.
Unsurprisingly, it was a full house in favour of Villa.
14:47
RECAP VILLA'S WIN OVER FOREST
Aston Villa sealed their place in the Europa League final with a 4-1 aggregate win over Nottingham Forest, winning the second leg 4-0 at Villa Park.
Check out some behind the scenes action from that game captured by TNT Sports cameras, as part of our No Filter series.
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No Filter UEL: Aston Villa book their place in the UEFA Europa League final
Video credit: TNT Sports
14:34
MCGINN REACTS TO VILLA FAN MESSAGES
John McGinn was shown some fan messages ahead of the Europa League final.
It includes one from someone who's travelled all the way from Perth for the game.
14:22
KEY STATS AHEAD OF FREIBURG V ASTON VILLA
Whet your appetite ahead of tonight's game with a few key stats, courtesy of UEFA.com.
Freiburg are the third different German team to reach the Europa League final in the last five seasons. Eintracht Frankfurt lifted the trophy in 2021/22 and Leverkusen were beaten finalists in 2023/24.
Julian Schuster led Freiburg to the Europa League final in his first-ever UEFA campaign as a coach and could become the first German coach to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League since Franz Beckenbauer with Bayern in 1996.
Villa have won 12 of their 14 Europa League matches this season (L2), three victories more than any other team; Freiburg are second with nine wins.
The Villans are the top scorers in the Europa League this season with 28 goals – three more than second-placed Freiburg.
Villa's 4-0 second-leg win against Forest was the biggest margin of victory in UEFA competition between two English clubs and their 10th consecutive home European win.
Unai Emery is the most successful coach in UEFA Cup/Europa League history with four titles – three with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and one with Villarreal (2021). A win tonight would ensure he becomes the first coach to win the competition with three different clubs.
14:06
MORE ARSENAL TITLE CELEBRATIONS
We've published some more footage of Arsenal's title footage.
This includes Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bukayo Saka joking about the "bottlers" tag, and Ian Wright's champagne celebration outside the Emirates.
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'They called us bottlers, now we're holding the bottles!' - Saka, Lewis-Skelly celebrate
Video credit: SNTV
13:53
HOW DEMAND FOR CONSISTENCY IS DRIVING VILLA'S EUROPEAN SUCCESS
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa's Premier League consistency has been key to achieving success in Europe.
The Villans head into the match knowing that Champions League qualification is already secured for next season, regardless of the outcome of tonight's Europa League final against Freiburg.
"Europe is important as it means we are performing in the Premier League at the highest level because to be in Europe is through the league,” Emery told TNT Sports.
"Of course, achieving playing in Europe is very important and through the Premier League we are doing it. We finished the first year seventh, the second year fourth and last year sixth. Those positions, normally they are getting you to play in Europe, Champions League or Europa League, Conference League.
"And then to play in Europe like we did last year, we did a fantastic two matches and were close to beating [PSG].
"And we were excited in the Champions League to be playing each match. This year, we are enjoying it a lot in the Europa League, we are really motivated, excited with how we are doing away with our supporters.
"When we are playing away, they come with us. When we are playing at home in Villa Park, it is always something special.”
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Highlights: Villa into Europa League final after Forest hammering
Video credit: TNT Sports
13:36
HOW TO WATCH THE EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL TONIGHT
Here's a reminder of all the information you need to tune into tonight's game!
The Europa League final between Aston Villa and Freiburg takes place on May 20 at the Tupras Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
You can watch the encounter on TNT Sports 1, Ultimate, and HBO Max, with live coverage from 18:00 UK time ahead of a 20:00 kick-off.
There will be expert analysis from a team including Owen Hargreaves, Fara Williams and Stiliyan Petrov.
You can watch the Europa League final on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
You can subscribe to TNT Sports through HBO Max, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
To find out where your local establishments showing TNT Sports are, use our Pub Finder.
For the latest information on which football matches are on TNT Sports, click here.
Here is the TNT Sports schedule and TV guide. And for the full Premier League schedule, click here.
13:24
EVENEPOEL CELEBRATES ARSENAL'S TITLE WIN
The double Olympic champion nailed his colours to the mast on a training ride!
13:14
HAGREAVES BACKING ARSENAL FOR BRIGHT FUTURE
Owen Hargreaves believes the future is looking bright for Arsenal after winning the Premier League title this season.
The Gunners could still claim a memorable league and European double when they face Paris Saint-German in the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest on Saturday, May 30, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
"They've got a brilliant group and they're only going to get better," the 45-year-old said.
"And now you've tasted the first bit of success, this is where you don't sit still, you've got to keep pushing, don't be content with winning, go try win the Champions League."
Hargreaves is win backing Arsenal to build on that success in the years ahead, and added: "They've got a great goalkeeper, they've got a brilliant back four, they've got the best defence. That's sorted, they don't need that.
"I think they need a couple of players in central midfielder, another striker and a left winger. That's four, that's easily done.
"They've got 95% of it in place, and now you can go and hand-pick one or two, like City did, like Liverpool did when they got Alisson and [Virgil] van Dijk. They had a blueprint and then you get one or two to take you to the next level.
"Arsenal are there, but they'll be pushed next year by everybody. They could be winning the Premier League and the Champions League but they've got to be in there.
"Because they've still got quite a young team, they could be in there for the next five years."
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Party time! Arsenal fans celebrate title win at the Emirates
Video credit: SNTV
12:56
GRIFO OR WATKINS TO END AS TOP SCORER?
It's a bit of a long shot, but both Vincenzo Grifo and Ollie Watkins are in contention to finish as the Europa League's top goalscorer this season.
Petar Stanic of Ludogorets still leads the way with seven goals, with Grifo and Watkins both on five.
A hat-trick for either tonight would ensure they finish top of the leaderboard!
Check out the full list here.
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Watkins scores landmark goal after 'magnificent' Villa move - 'Just beautiful!'
Video credit: TNT Sports
12:41
HOW VILLA OVERCAME 'BAD MOMENTS' TO REACH FINAL
Aston Villa have come a long way in recent years after succumbing to relegation from the Premier League just 10 years.
A return via the play-offs came three years later under the management of Dean Smith, and Villa are now aiming to end 30 years without a major trophy when they face Freiburg in Istanbul.
"It's been a great roller coaster,” former Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov told TNT Sports ahead of the final.
"Sometimes when you go through bad moments, you always expect to have good moments, but to have a good moment you have to recruit well.
"I think with the takeover from the new ownership, appointing the right manager in Unai Emery has given a chance to build up, to have a project and to have a manager who has a vision, but also a capability to achieve and to give the Villa opportunity to be sustainable in the European football.
"That's why we are here today, it's going to be an incredible night for Aston Villa.”
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Emery hails 'huge effort’ at Aston Villa to reach next level ahead of Europa League final
Video credit: TNT Sports
12:24
ARTETA'S FAVOUR FROM AN OLD FRIEND
12:14
LESCOTT ON GUARDIOLA'S LEGACY
With Pep Guardiola reportedly set to call time on his trophy-laden tenure at Manchester City, Joleon Lescott paid tribute to the job that the Spaniard has done in his 10-yeast spell at the club.
He has won six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups, and five Carabao Cups, but could be about to leave the club.
Former City defender Lescott explained how Guardiola's impact stretches far beyond his work at the club.
”I think his impact on English football is far greater than his impact on Man City, which is a credit to him,” he said.
”For any successful manager you talk about a legacy within the club, but we're talking about how Pep has influenced and changed the way football is played throughout the whole pyramid system.
”I play vets football now, and teams at that level want to play out from the back, pass between the lines and try and play a more progressive style.
”That is Pep's influence. I don't think his legacy will ever be matched from that perspective.
”Yes in terms of what he's done at Man City has been amazing - it's probably surpassed everyone's expectations in the 10 years that he's been there, the level of consistency has been insane.
”But his legacy is far greater than Man City.”
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Guardiola congratulates Arsenal on 'well-deserved' title win
Video credit: SNTV
11:59
HOW FREIBURG CAN HURT VILLA
Understandably, much of our pre-match build-up has focused around Aston Villa.
However, we've also garnered the views of Eurosport Germany's Tom Haferkorn to see where the Bundesliga side could get some joy tonight.
Haferkorn says Villa will have to be wary of Vincenzo Grifo, who has scored five goals and registered four assists in the Europa League this season, and defensive stalwart Matthias Ginter.
He said: "Grifo has been the linchpin at Freiburg for years," says Haferkorn. "He is one of the most feared set-piece specialists in Germany, and brings a wealth of experience and creativity to the table."
Speaking about Ginter, he added: "Ginter is the defensive leader and works exceptionally well with his partner Philipp Lienhart," says Haferkorn. "One of the few who has played multiple times in the Europa League or Champions League.
"His experience really shines through, especially in build-up play and in tight situations, or when the team is trailing."
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'A legend of this club’ - Watch all of Grifo’s Europa League goals in Freiburg’s run to the final
Video credit: TNT Sports
11:42
THE BEDROCK OF ARSENAL'S TITLE SUCCESS
Opta provides another corker of a stat here concerning the formidable Arsenal duo of Gabriel and William Saliba.