Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins paid tribute to manager Unai Emery after guiding them to the Europa League final with a resounding win over Nottingham Forest.
Villa came into the second leg trailing to Chris Wood's penalty last week, but a first-half goal from Watkins, Emiliano BuendÃa's penalty and then John McGinn's quickfire double turned the tie around to secure a 4-1 aggregate win.
Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg now stand between Villa and their first major trophy in 30 years, but Watkins feels Emery, who has won the Europa League four times as a coach, can again prove the difference.
"There is no better manager to get us prepared for this game and obviously take us into the final as well. His track record speaks for itself," Watkins said on TNT Sports. "We are in a great position, but we need to go there and win now."
Waktins praised the collective effort of the Villa team, who had come up short in their last Premier League match, but can now win top prize in Europe's second-tier competition in the final in Istanbul on May 20.
"After the performance against Tottenham, everyone's mind was on this game," the England forward said. "Everyone worked so hard. It is hard to pick a man of the match -- we were all amazing."
Villa captain McGinn, who had only just returned from injury, had urged his team to seize what might have proven to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"I am normally quite calm before the game, but the pressure today was intense," the Scotland midfielder said. "I was nervous going into the game and tonight was one of the best performances from Villa I've seen in a long time."
McGinn added: "What I said to the lads was they might not get another chance to play in a European semifinal as they don't come along too often.
"When you get to 31, it might be the last chance to get to a European final."
Information from PA was used in this report.
