The Debrief: Villa & Palace make it to European finals

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1:14Do you have a friend who treats airfare like a puzzle and somehow always ends up with a first class upgrade? Smart Travel is like that friend, minus the group texts. NerdWallet's travel journalists to break down the pros and cons of travel decisions, like when lounge access is worth paying for and which hotel loyalty programmes actually pay off. Make your travel dollars work harder. Follow Smart Travel on your favourite podcast app. On the Football Daily Podcast, The Debrief. With Steve Crossman. We're inside Villa Park, where Aston Villa have just booked their place in the Europa League final.

1:54They'll be there in Istanbul. On Wednesday the 20th of May they'll be playing Freiburg in the final. Crystal Palace will be there on Wednesday the 27th of May in Leipzig to face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final. Arsenal will be there in Budapest on Saturday the 30th of May for their Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. And for the first time ever, there are three English clubs in the finals, in each final. Here at Villa Park, the party is well underway. Emi Martinez has just tried to climb up the crossbar, but he's too little, Dion Dublin. We found something the World Cup winner can't do.

2:42Yes, that was awful effort to get on top of the goal there, let me tell you, from Emi Martinez. Well, that's the only awful thing he's done tonight. took charge of his area, took charge of his back four took charge of his back three whatever it was in front of him he knew exactly what to do he knew exactly how to get over the line and the master of this competition his manager has done it again he set a team up to get to a final and I've got to say Steve comfortably so we've got Dion Dublin we've got Ian Dennis with us as well we've got Nick Mascheter as well BBC Sport senior football news reporter reacting to Aston Villa's 4-0 win on the night, 4-1 on aggregate.

3:26More to come on Crystal Palace, 2-Shaktar, 1-4-2 on aggregate as well. The Villa players are just making their way off the pitch now. Yuri Tielemann just giving a big wave. Onana's down there with Rodgers as well. Onana couldn't play because he was injured. I'm sure he'll be back for the final. Massive player he is for this team. We'll talk about some of the Villa heroes, Emi Buendia and John McGinn as well. And Ian, why don't we start with John McGinn? Two goals for him for Mr Aston Villa, really, John McGinn. Yeah, he's just going across to get a big hug from Alan McInerney, one of the Villa ambassadors, in front of the North Stand, away towards our left.

4:05But it was his two goals in the space of three minutes that really sealed it. because up until that point, Villa leading 2-0 on the night, only the one goal separating the two sides on aggregate, there was always that chance of, you know, who's to say that Forrest could have had an opportunity. But he took his two goals ever so well. Both first-time finishes. The first was into the far corner, bottom left corner as he hit it, and then later on, he beat Ortega inside his near post. He's just a man for the big occasion, John McGinn. And once you knew that third goal had gone in, And you knew then that there was no way back for Nottingham Forest, not the stuffing out of them.

4:43And then that meant that they could enjoy the last 10 minutes or so, soak up the celebrations and start wondering about the flight tickets to Istanbul. Dion, you were saying during commentary that you looked behind us and you saw your former teammate Ian Taylor, who was such a massive part of the Aston Villa team, who won the League Cup in 96, their last major trophy. And he was in tears. You need these people. He was Mr Villa of that team. John McGinn just shows you can be an adopted Mr Villa doesn't matter, you don't have to come from Birmingham he's come from Scotland and made this club his own No he has, he has and these fans know that as well he wears the armband with pride he leads this team with pride this is a massive football club Steve it really is and these are the competitions and these are the finals they need to be in in order to back that up oh here it comes again Steve can you hear it?

5:34it's on its way listen to this noise This is going to be special. Do you want to do the bit where you wait when they do the hi-ho, Aston Villa deal? Yeah, I'd love to, Steve. I don't mind at all. But they're not going anywhere, Steve. They are staying in their seats. They're waving their flags. Some have got their scarves above their heads. They're just trying to enjoy the moment because this doesn't come around very often, Steve. And you know when it does, you have to enjoy it. You really, really do.

6:08Right, well, there goes my job. Nick, this has been quite some night for Aston Villa. Absolutely. Was it ever in doubt, really, for minute one? I mean, we spoke about the changes that Unai Emery made on Sunday against Tottenham Hotspur and the criticism that the performance got. But now, as you said, who cares? None of these Villa fans are worried about what happened on Sunday now. And it's really interesting. I'm looking at the North Stand at the minute. the redevelopment has started that the corner's been knocked down where the hospitality was that's going to send the capacity to around 50 ,000 when it's finished towards the end of next year and it just feels like everything starts to fall into place for Aston Villa on and off the pitch they need to get back into Champions League and extending expanding Villa Park then helps them be able to start reducing that gap to the top tier sides financially that's a massive thing for them.

7:06But they have to be doing this though, this football club, don't they? They have to be challenging in conferences like this. They have to be looking for Champions League football all the time. This is what the fans demand, this is what the sides of the club demand. But it's not a given. I mean, look at what Unai Emery has done to create this. He took over from Steven Gerrard, I think they were 14th, just a few points off the relegation zone, having been, I think it was a big defeat at Fulham, was Gerrard's last game in October, November 2022. And nobody would have said at that point now, this is where Aston Villa would be.

7:42But you have to look at the magic that Unai Emery has weaved, essentially, to get these players to take them to the next level. But the thing is, the big thing is now, he wants players now to be able to improve. And they need to be able to do that financially to back him. So he's got a massively strong hand now in that conversation. Dion, from a Forest perspective, it was always going to be difficult without Morgan Gibbs-White and he had to be on the bench because of that horrible facial injury that he got. That will have made a big difference. That said, it just didn't feel from minute one, really, that they were able to cope with all of this.

8:21No, I don't think many would tonight, Steve. I don't care who it was who had that one-goal lead. Okay, so I've got some fans behind me, Steve, enjoying the night. Well done, you lot. I just feel that anybody coming into the stadium tonight with this noise, with this atmosphere, would have been hard to handle. And it wasn't just that, it was the players in carat and blue shirts tonight. They put a proper shift in tonight, Steve. They did everything correct to a man. I said to you before the game, when you're in a position like this, you look at yourself and you go, I need to do my job. and those Villa players did their job tonight to a man.

9:01I think it was within five minutes of getting here, Nick, that you really kind of got the feeling that Aston Villa fans are going to give absolutely everything. And obviously Forest fans did as well. And the atmosphere at the city ground for the first leg was extraordinary. Mull of Kintyre, it sounded absolutely glorious. But just here tonight, I think the Villa fans have to take a huge amount of credit for creating this almost storm that the Forest players had to walk into. It was an absolute cauldron, wasn't it? I thought it was really interesting at the start, before everything really, really kicked off, before the fans really got into the stadium.

9:38There were a few, but it was very relaxed. You know, it might have been quiet, but there was just this sort of calmness over it. We saw the owners, they were down pitch side, they were talking to Damian Vidigani, the head of football here, and once it clicked for Villa on the pitch, it goes into the stands and vice versa. They drove them on tonight and there was nothing from the fans to suggest that there was going to be any anxiety. It might have taken a little while to get that goal, but it was coming and realistically, there was nothing Forrest could do about it tonight. Ian Dennis, I've waited to bring you back into the conversation because you were scribbling away and it just made me think, what on earth do you write to try and sum up a night like this in like 20 to 30 seconds which you'll have to do for the the news bulletins well i don't know it's very hard i mean if you've got somebody like ian taylor who's in tears behind us you know this is said at the final whistle the long wait is over you know generations of villa supporters have been dreaming of this you know i'm not going to diss the conference league but you know they were so close two years ago against Olympiacos, but they were never really in it after losing the first leg.

10:51The Champions League is everything for Aston Villa if they are to challenge, you know, the other top clubs in the Premier League. And they've buried, they've put aside their Premier League form, they've brought their European game here. They were never in any danger, never in any danger. Forrest, I think once I realised that Gibbs White wasn't playing, I thought that Forrest are going to miss him because he's such a talisman for them. He's in outstanding form. and I felt for Forrest in that respect because injuries haven't been kind to them of late but this was no contest in that respect. Villa thoroughly deserved a win.

11:24A great night for two different types of royalty, Dion. Actual royalty because Prince William was here and Villa royalty. Likes of Ian Taylor and Andy Townsend and you trying your hardest to focus on the radio as people all over the place shout your name and give you a thumbs up. It's a night that I don't think any of us will forget Steve it's not happened in a while let's say that to be honest with you and these fans here are hanging about just to take in the last little bit of atmosphere in this stadium and see Andy Townsend over there just doing his bits and bobs for the media Ian Taylor's done his bit as well I can see Lee Hendry down there doing the TV for Aston Villa as well so we're all here we all wanted to experience this but it wasn't as Nick said and Nick's rightly said it wasn't a given that it was going to happen it's not a given that this football club are going to be there just because they're a big football club tonight Villa have worked incredibly hard and they've shown what they can do they've reared their head again there's a very very good football team they've blown Forest apart tonight pushed them aside and said right no we want to get in the final we deserve to be in the final this is our house you're getting nothing tonight Nick can I just check how you are for time do you need to go down to Unai Emery's press conference yeah I'm gonna have to go and disappear to speak to one and happy manager in one server.

12:41Go for it. Thank you, Nick. Great stuff. Brilliant to have you. Nick Mascheter, BBC Sports, senior football news reporter who's been with us. He's about to go in and speak to Unai Emery. Let's talk a bit about Unai Emery. And Ian, the thing that struck me actually at full time was with everyone else going absolutely crazy, Emery just sort of wandered down the touchline. And I was thinking, God, he looks like this is business as usual. And then you remember that for Unai Emery, this is business as usual. He's going to have a fifth opportunity to win it. I know. It's his seventh Europa League semi-final and he's progressed now on five occasions.

13:16He did look relaxed, as you say, on the final whistle, but did you see his celebration after the Buendia penalty, the second goal? He went down on one knee and I thought he was actually punching the ground. He was that, if you pardon the pun, pumped up. And I think that was probably a release because he knew that was the decisive goal. once Villa then had got a stranglehold on the tie taking the lead for the first time I thought his tactics were spot on that change of system in the first leg they'd gone with the back four last week he went to a three today Lindelof was superb not just marshalling that back three but stepping into midfield that was something that you picked up in the first half Dion yeah and I think it's okay the gaffer having all the tactics and setting up his team right he has to do that that's his job but you've got to do it to the letter.

14:06You've got to trust the manager and the way that he thinks it's best for you to play. Even though you have individual bits of skill, you've got to take into consideration. It's a team game. If we do it together as a team, we'll be a juggernaut tonight. And honestly, I've not seen Villa play like that for a long time. Not as convincing as that anyway. And speaking of the team, let's spend a bit of time talking about Emi Buendia because the number of conversations we have about Aston Villa, I mean, especially because they play in Europe, you know, on our Premier League Sunday show, we talk about all the time because we have loads and loads of Aston Villa commentaries.

14:43And the number of conversations we have about players like Martinez and about Watkins and about McGinn and about Rodgers, and there's probably two or three other. Emi Buendia is not a Villa player that you talk about every single week because the competition is so big, but he is some player and tonight he was brilliant. No, he was, he was. I mean, you could have given that build-up to any of the players tonight. They were all outstanding. Emi Buendia just goes below the radar. He plays good passes. He's nasty as well, Steve. He doesn't mind putting his foot in with a challenge at all. He doesn't mind challenging in the air.

15:15I don't know his way to pass is good. His finishing is good. He's just one of those players that Villa need in their side in order to achieve. And, yes, he doesn't want the plaudits. He just wants to get to finals, and that's the way he played tonight. The other thing I'd say, Steve, as well, and I said this at the start, I expected a reaction and he got it. I know he made the seven changes, but the thing that angered the Villa supporters was the fact that there was no fight or desire against Tottenham. And even the work off the ball from Morgan Rodgers and Watkins, a couple of occasions where, yeah, they're leading the line, but then they drop back to win it back for Aston Villa and then give it to a Tielemans or a Buendia in the midfield.

15:53There was a lot of stuff off the ball that I think would have pleased Unai Emery tonight in terms of a work ethic from Villa. Let's get a Villa fan on with us, shall we? Marnie has joined us. Evening, Marnie, congratulations, you're in a European final. Thank you very much. Come on, Villa. Order, Villa. Were you at the game, Marnie? Yeah, I was at the game. What a performance on Villa. Four-nil clean sheet. Nottingham Forest 2. Yeah, Forest and Nottingham. Forest and Nottingham, that's all there, yo. Get out of here, man. They got absolutely dusted by Villa. What a masterclass from United Emery.

16:29A superb performance from us. Absolutely brilliant. We're going all the way to Istanbul. We're winning the European Cup like we did in 82. Bring your silverware back to Aston Villa where it belongs. Come on, you Villa boys. Marnie, chat to Dion Dublin. Marnie, I've got to say, pal, I'm with you. Your enthusiasm is incredible. It's so nice to see Villa play like we know they can play. Was that what kind of excited you tonight? Absolutely, Dion. What a performance that was. absolutely brilliant from start to finish and I had belief in my team as well I had belief in Unai Emery I had belief in the Villa I knew we could do this out in the park under the lights European nights are always special what a performance it was from the lads I mean my voice is already gone they're shouting and screaming from that game absolutely brilliant to see and like I said Leon we're going all the way we're winning the European Cup we're going to cement history and bring Silverware back to this beautiful club where it belongs Marnie, can I ask how old are you?

17:29I'm 23. So this is as good as it's ever got for you as a Villa fan then, isn't it? Oh, mate, I've seen... We've been in the trenches. We have been in the trenches. I've been seeing relegation fights. I've seen... I've been in the championship to now. I've seen glory. Absolutely glory, man. I know. Absolutely glory. What time it is to be a Villa fan. Absolutely unreal. I can't believe it. Marnie, talk to me. Tell me a bit about your captain. He's not bad, is he? My captain, John McGuin, yes, that's what I like to call him. It's not John McGuin, it's John McGuin, yes, that's my captain. Yeah, my number seven.

18:07More respect on him, the most underrated player in the Premier League. People, when you say John McGuin, say John McGuin, yes, that's absolutely unreal. He would run through brick walls. Yeah, that's what we call him, meatball. Big up to John McGuin, my captain, big up to him. I imagine as well, Marnie, one of the other things about this is that, you know, you will have relatives who will have told you all Aston Villa in my day. We were in European finals and we done it. You will have heard all that, but never been able to see it. And now you can see it. I can see it live in the flesh. Welcome to Istanbul.

18:42I'm going to see with my two eyes Aston Villa lifting that European cup. I can't wait. What a time it is to be a Villa fan right now. Even though Emery has changed the Villa fans' lives, he has changed it. What a time it is to be a Villa fan. The last gig saw left, the last piece of the puzzle left is lifting that European Cup. And come Istanbul, we're going to be doing that. Marnie, it's been lovely to have you on. Thanks very much for talking to us and congratulations. Thank you very much. Go enjoy your night. Thank you very much. Well, that's it, Dion, isn't it? Does anything paint the picture better than that?

19:17I think Mali's summed it up, hasn't he, really, with losing his voice and his enthusiasm. And you're right about what you said as well, Steve. This is his first bit of joy, I think, as a Villa fan getting to a final. Gosh, can you imagine how many Villa fans are going to be travelling to that final? It's going to be special. They won't forget it in a hurry. But this is the point they wanted to be at. They wanted to be in the final. Then they can calm down again. and then they can regroup and then they can start to dream. And I'm just again drawn to that quote above us from the great Brian Moore commentating on Aston Villa winning the European Cup in Rotterdam, beating Bayern Munich.

19:59That line, good ball played in for Tony Moly, it must be, and it is, Peter Wythe. Maybe for Moly, Reid Morgan, for Wythe, Watkins. I know it is not the European Cup, Ian, but it is a European Cup and a big one. Absolutely it is, yeah. I mean, you know, back in the day when it was the UEFA Cup we used to have an argument that that was actually harder to win the UEFA Cup than it was the European Cup because you always had, I think, a better quality of side. That was in the days when you just had the European champions but you didn't have teams from 2, 3, 4 and 5 competing in the UEFA Cup. That was an argument maybe for yesteryear.

20:39But no, this is still a major trophy. It's absolutely huge for Aston Villa And if they were to win the Europa League and get their hands on silverware, brilliant, superb. But also, let's not forget, it gives you direct entry into the Champions League. I know they're probably going to do that, one of the six points clear of Bournemouth through the league anyway. But it's another indication of where Villa want to be. Aston Villa want to be challenging for major honours. They want to be competing in Europe's elite competition, season in, season out. and that is exactly what they're doing under Unai Emery.

21:13Final thoughts, Dion? I'm just delighted with the attitude of the players. I'm delighted with the way that they've come out tonight. The fans played their part, as I've said many, many times. Everybody's sung, everybody's waving their flags above their head and their scarves. They created the atmosphere for the players to really flourish tonight. And the players in every aspect, everybody that went over that white line in a car and blue shirt tonight, they were blood, sweat and tears. They did everything they needed to do. They listened to their manager, who's the passmaster of this competition, and they got it over the line.

21:47They deserved it. And lucky to find, they didn't really turn up tonight. They got blown away. And I believe that Villa will go on to win this trophy. Congratulations, Aston Villa. Commiserations to Nottingham Forest. So Villa against Freiburg, who was seventh in the Bundesliga. Istanbul, Europa League final, Wednesday the 20th of May. We will be there. Full commentary, of course. Ian, Dion, thank you very much indeed. Extraordinary night. Great stuff. Thank you. Dion Dublin and Ian Dennis, who've been with us here at Villa Park.

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23:59On the Football Daily Podcast, The Debrief. With Steve Crossman. So Aston Villa are in a European final. We know Arsenal are in a European final. Crystal Palace are in a European final. They will be there to face Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, the 27th of May in Leipzig. And again, we will be there in the Conference League. Has the party finished yet, Mark Scott? Just about here, Steve. Yes, it went on for quite a while. The Palace fans were singing, we're on our way to Leipzig from well before kick-off and they were belting it out at full-time along with all the other usual anthems. Glad all over was ringing out as well and Palace really powered their way into a first ever European final Remember for them to one win on the night over Shakhtar which gives them a 5-2 Aggregate success overall it was a bit nervy early on because Shakhtar made a strong start Palace then thought they'd gone in front Pino marginally offside a Henrik own goal did put Palace in front Eginaldo Equalized with a lovely hit and it still felt it was a bit in the balance but Ismail Assar's second half goal when he touched in from Mitchell's cross just calmed the nerves and from there on in the Palace fans really reveled in the moment and what a turnaround it is when you think about Oliver Glasner's relationship with the Palace fans looking like it was on the rocks after some of his outspoken comments earlier this season now all the chance of super Oli Glasner once again the same for Jean-Philippe Mateta when he was trying to force through that move to Milan during the January transfer window he was heralded as he went down the tunnel as well and now Palace's final game of the season and of course Oliver Glasner's final game as Crystal Palace boss will be their first ever European final can he finish with an unbelievable flourish Chris Waters Palace fun is with us Chris I will say the same to you as I did to Marnie the Villa fan congratulations you're in a European final Thank you very much.

25:56Yep. Great night and, well, a great journey to get there. Tell us about the experience of getting to this final. Were you there at the game tonight? Yeah, yeah. And I've been to every single game, home and away. Nine, not nine countries, but, you know, nine away games from the qualifier, really nervy in Frederikstad, back all the way in September when it was a nervy 0-0 when we scrape through, you know, and out to Eastern Poland, Strasbourg, Dublin, Mostar in Bosnia, which is an epic journey, Larnica, Cyprus, Florence, obviously, and then Krakow last week. So to make it all the way, you know, really, it's a dream come true.

26:41And does it repair some of the sort of bridges that felt a little bit burned with Oliver Glasner with the way his departure has come around? the man who's taken you to an FA Cup and may now finish with a European trophy. Yeah, I think that's their comment. I mean, as your commentator said tonight, it was really telling later in the second half that the songs were now including Oli Glasner's name again. That privilege, or whatever you want to call it, was withdrawn during his January outburst and didn't really come back until the past couple of weeks. so I think himself and Mateta who's come back into some decent form of course all will be forgiven and you know what a way to bow out to win three trophies I guess in your final year of your tenure before you go on to something else.

27:33Great stuff Chris thank you very much for joining us congratulations to Crystal Palace they go through to the final of the Conference League and will be with you for all of them Leipzig Wednesday the 27th in the Conference League Istanbul ball Wednesday the 20th in the Europa League and of course Saturday the 30th in Budapest will be there for the Champions League final Arsenal versus Paris Saint-Germain right then before we go opportunity to hear from the Aston Villa manager here is Unai Emery we planned emotionally and the momentum how we were playing the match it was the the only match we played with these circumstances playing semi-final.

28:20We did two years ago in conference against Olympiacos, but we played the second leg away. Last year, we played the second leg at home, but it was the final. And we played the semi-final in London FA Cup. But to play one mile like that, playing in the second leg, after the first leg in Nottingham, the second leg here, with the possibility to get a final, was the only moment we had here. And of course, we were so motivated, we were excited, we were confident about how the supporters were here creating this atmosphere, and then was focus and play and play and play and they play like they are. All right then, that's it.