Unai Emery's magical touch when it comes to the Europa League has not escaped him. After Villa's fourth went in, the fans sung about how they were heading to Istanbul, how super John McGinn is and all the while Emery stood on the edge of his coaching area, his jaw locked in focus.
Even with the 4-0 win behind him, and unbridled joy filling the Villa Park stands, he wasn't going to hang around at full time and soak it in. He strolled purposefully down the touchline, gave a few fist pumps to the crowd, caught a few gleeful eyes, and vanished from sight.
Emery is now one match from winning this competition for an incredible fifth time. Villa have a chance of ridding themselves of the "nearly-men" tag and ending their 30-year wait of winning a major trophy when they take on Freiburg in Istanbul in two weeks.
Emery's ability at steering teams wherever he's been to the final of this competition is unmatched. This is now his sixth Europa League final, having won it with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and Villerreal (2021). Emery knows better than anyone how to cajole a team through these potentially tenure-defining matches. And how they love him at Villa Park. They've been waiting for this moment ever since captain Andy Townsend and manager Brian Little lifted the League Cup at a stadium now demolished back in 1996.
This was as comprehensive a victory as you'll see. Having lost at Nottingham Forest's City Ground 1-0 last week, Villa dominated this return leg.
Ollie Watkins, complete with a bloodied bandage wrapped around his head, scored their opener. Emiliano Buendia added their second from the penalty stop and McGinn slotted home their third and fourth.
Statement sent; cue the stadium announcer reminding supporters entering the pitch would result in a ban and was a criminal offence. The Villa fans danced in the stands, and listened to the warning; there's still a job to finish.
Forest fans came here in hope. They've been in fine form recently. They played well against Villa last Thursday, then with eight changes under their belt, they still swept aside Chelsea on Monday to all but secure their Premier League status for next season. Forest fans allowed themselves to dream of this group sitting alongside Brian Clough's immortals who won the European Cup in 1979 and 1980. But instead as the full-time whistle sounded, the Forest fans' voices had long escaped them, and the empty seats told their own story.
How badly they missed Morgan Gibbs-White. After Villa's fourth went in, the camera panned to Gibbs-White, his head in his hands, both eyes bruised and the long, weaving cut down his forehead telling the story of the injury sustained on Monday which prevented him from featuring in this semifinal. Along with Ibrahim Sangaré, Ola Aina and Murillo, their collective absence sorely hurt Forest.
But even their inclusion may not have been enough to stop Villa. They were irresistible, forged from bottled anger and purpose. That 30-year wait for a trophy has been a millstone around the neck of every Villa team since 1996. They've come close before: they reached the Conference League semifinal in 2024 only to be turned over by Olympiacos, and lost to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semifinal last year. This squad are aware of the danger of slipping into nearly-men territory.
"We don't want to be a maybe team. We don't want to be a team where people say 'Aye, they were not bad,'" McGinn said last month.
That urgency partly explains their rapid start on Thursday evening, but so too was their desire to right recent wrongs, and send a statement to their fans this season hasn't yet peaked. Emery's message in the matchday programme totalled just 58 words. "Tonight we all know what needs to be done. Something that future generations will always remember," he wrote. Point made.
The performance we saw was a world away from the 1-0 defeat in the previous leg at the City Ground last week. Following their loss to Chris Wood's penalty and Emery's fury at Elliot Anderson escaping a red card, he made seven changes for the match against Spurs on Saturday. But his second-string flopped, putting in a dismal performance.
Come Thursday Emery wanted a response; the crowd answered his cry. Claret and blue flares hugged the Villa team as they stepped off the bus as they arrived, the players straining their eyes to see through the smoke. The welcome the team received as they walked out on to the field would rival any enjoyed here: fireworks lit up the sky, and with the smell of sulphur lingering, a huge tifo of this current generation filled the Holte End. The symbolism was clear: while the commentary from their European Cup-winning goal from 1982 stretches across the Doug Ellis Stand, this group have their own chance to join Villa's immortals. They just had to answer the challenge.
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Emery had one last surprise up his sleeve before kick off. Victor Lindelöf -- signed as a defender on a free transfer -- was named in the starting lineup. UEFA interpreted this as Emery switching to a back three. No. Instead it was Emery starting Lindelof in the holding role in midfield vacated by the injured Amadou Onana. It was Lindelof's first midfield start in over 10 years. But he slotted in seamlessly.
Villa's intensions were clear from the off. Forest had their final team huddle in front of their fans on Villa's side of the pitch. Emi Martinez was offering his own feedback to the team, encouraging them -- in a way -- to head back to their side of the field. And Villa came out of the blocks, flying. Pau Torres had a header well-saved after 11 minutes, and every time a corner was forced or a free kick drawn, the players would be gesturing to the fans to increase the already deafening volume in the stands.
Watkins was playing like a man possessed, and in the 25th minute he planted a header at Forest's goal, only to also catch Morato's forehead. It looked nasty, a penalty was given for something similar on Monday in the Chelsea-Forest match, but 10 minutes later that was forgotten, the only reminder the thick white bandage around Watkins' head. Buendia danced through Forest's defence and found Watkins a few yards from goal to open the scoring.
Forest badly needed the break, but even that hiatus couldn't halt Villa's momentum. Nikola Milenkovic conceded an idiotic penalty for a shirt-pull on Pau Torres, and Buendia took two steps up to the ball before planting it low down to Stefan Ortega's right. McGinn then followed up with two wonderfully-judged strikes in the 77th and 80th minutes, and Villa were safelty through.
There's been a feeling in and around this Aston Villa team that they're approaching the end of this cycle as a group. They've been together a while: the bulk of his starting team were there when Emery joined in 2022. So change is inevitable. Morgan Rogers is a man in-demand. Emery himself was linked with Real Madrid this week. The humbling defeat to Spurs on Saturday showed several of Villa's back-up options aren't up to scratch. There's a potential summer refresh coming. So this group, as it potentially approaches its final chapter together, want something to show for all their improvement.
Germany's Freiburg are the final challenge awaiting them in the final. But Emery will have a plan. When it comes to the Europa League, no one knows what it takes to win it quite like the Spaniard
