‘Grief prevails’ – Schuster despondent after Freiburg’s Europa League thumping

Freiburg head coach Julian Schuster was unable to find any satisfaction in the club's impressive run to the Europa League final, having lost to Aston Villa.

The German side were beaten 3-0 by Villa in the showpiece thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers on either side of half-time.

Freiburg, who were playing in just the second major final of their history and chasing a first-ever trophy, failed to muster much of a threat at the other end as they were blown away by Villa.

Their defeat means German sides have now lost four of their last five finals in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, with the exception being Eintracht Frankfurt against Rangers in 2022.

Freiburg had just four shots worth 0.3 expected goals (xG), with only two of those hitting the target. They also only managed just 12 touches in Villa's box as they were left frustrated in Istanbul.

"For the moment, I don't feel any satisfaction. We lost a final, and that overshadows everything else right now and hurts a lot," Schuster told RTL.

"When you're 2-0 down and concede goals just before half-time, that shows the true character of a team. The way they tried was okay.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. With a few days' notice, we'll certainly be able to reflect on what we accomplished and what we achieved together with our fans. But right now, grief prevails."

Freiburg had a strong run to the final, netting 25 Europa League goals – since 2009-10, they are the fifth-highest scoring German side across a single campaign in the competition.

However, they missed out on a place in the Champions League and will instead play in the Conference League next term, having finished seventh in the Bundesliga.