“Europa League Trophy & Ball” by Diego Sideburns, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
We are now down to the final four. Braga, SC Freiburg, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa secured their tickets to the semi-final, with no teams requiring extra time to do so. The Portuguese outfit, Braga, will fight for a spot in the final with SC Freiburg, leaving the two Premier League teams to duke it out for a shot at the trophy.
With a couple of weeks until the first legs of both ties, we will look back at the competition so far and highlight the players that have had a significant impact on the competition. And a few that could still make a decisive contribution.
Igor Jesus, Nottingham Forest
It is often easiest to start at the top and that is exactly where the Forest frontman sits. With seven goals and one assist in the competition, the Brazilian leads the scoring charts, with only Antony of Real Betis and Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav claiming more overall goal involvements (9). Jesus has mixed his tenacity with clever movement and smart link-up play to spearhead Forest’s charge to their first piece of European silverware since 1980.
That year, Forest won a second consecutive European Champion Clubs’ Cup, now known as the Champions League. After adding the Supercup, as a result of European success the season before, with a 2-1 aggregate win over Barcelona, Forest beat Hamburg 1-0 in Madrid with a goal from John Robertson to become back-to-back winners of the competition. Vitor Pereira will be hoping Igor Jesus has more goals in him in the final stages of the Europa League to etch the team’s name back onto a European trophy.
Ricardo Horta, Braga
The Portuguese international has been in sparkling form this season. On the domestic front, 13 goals have helped Braga into 4th position, which will be enough to secure Europa Conference League football next season. However, Carlos Vicens’ men will be hoping to play on the biggest European stage by lifting the Europa League this season. Triumph would secure a direct passage to the Champions League for the first time since the 2023/24 season.
Horta will be central to those chances. His performances in the league and in the Europa League (4 goals, 4 assists) earned the attacker a call up to the national team for the recent round of friendlies. Horta will be looking to finish the season with a flourish to secure his place on the plane to Canada, Mexico, and the U.S in the summer. Europa League success will certainly help that cause.
Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa
And what about the favourites to lift the trophy? Before the competition started, football betting odds at 1Bet had Aston Villa amongst the favourites. They now sit at the top of that list. And in Unai Emery, they have a manager that definitely knows how to win the Europa League. Three successes with Sevilla and one with Villarreal tells the tale of a man who has the roadmap to Europa League success in his back pocket. His team are also picking up form at the right time, as demonstrated in the 4-0 second leg demolition of Bologna.
Although he has not lit the stats board alight, Morgan Rogers remains a pivotal player for Villa. Rogers missed a penalty against Bologna but displayed strong mental resolve to bounce back with a goal before half time. An assist for Ollie Watkins’ opener took his goal involvements in the competition to 5 (2 goals, 3 assists) and with a big summer ahead for the Englishman, Rogers too will want a fine finish to the season.
There are currently rumours of a big money move in the summer with Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain all in the race to secure his signature. But ensuring that Aston Villa have Champions League football next season, via the league or Europa League success, is Rogers’ priority before thoughts turn to the World Cup.
Notable Mentions
The three players highlighted in this piece have made their mark on the competition so far. But with the teams whittled down to four, there are players that could yet make a decisive impact. If Freiburg are to secure their first ever European trophy, Vincenzo Grifo will be crucial. Amongst the other three teams, the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa), and Rodrigo Zalazar (Braga) have made game changing contributions at the top end of the pitch.
And at the other end, Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), Jan-Niklas Beste (SC Freiburg), and Victor Gómez (Braga) have been working tirelessly to keep opposition at arms length. It promises to be an exciting end to the Europa League campaign. The four teams remaining are only three matches from glory. Players of those four teams will be desperate to make the ultimate difference.
Frankie Wilde – is a content writer at various gambling sites. Also, he is a passionate traveler and a great cook. Frankie shares informative articles with the world.
