09/05/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | MAY 9, 2026

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Man with a plan Villans boss Emery will try to win Europa League for fifth time after thrashing Forest A STON VILLA boss Unai Emery admitted his side exe cuted the perfect plan after they earned a dominant 4-0 European final in 44 years where they will face German side Freiburg as Emery hunts a fifth Europa League title, having won three with Sevilla and one with Villarreal. ing room with the players and with me, and of course he is so happy as well.” Villa will quickly switch their atten tion back to the Premier League where they have three games to secure their place in the Champions League next term. Ű BY SUNNY BADWAL

Watkins lauds coach for leading Villa into final ASTO N VILLA forward Ollie Watkins paid tribute to manager Unai Emery after guiding his side into another 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 Buendia’s pen alty and then John McGinn’s quick fire double turned the tie around to secure a 4-1 aggregate win. Bundesliga outfit Freiburg now stand between Villa and their first major trophy in 30 years, but Watkins feels Emery 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. “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 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.”– The Independent

Forest, who were without Morgan Gibbs-White, will now look to secure their Premier League status this week end with a home fixture against Newcastle. Pereira said: “If you look at our bench today we brought three players in condition to play and three players injured, three boys from the academy and Murillo with a risk to play. “In the end, I’m proud of my team and players, of our supporters, but today we came without conditions to compete for the final. Difficult condi tions for us. “They tried everything but we didn’t have the solutions. It was a tough result but it was a long road till the semifinal. “A sad and difficult day but we need to look for the future. It is difficult to compete at this level every three days losing players.” – The Independent

He told a press conference: “At Villa Park we were expecting something dif ferent. Today we tried to prepare bet ter, push with the players and we did it. “We were focusing on what we needed to improve and the players responded fantastic. How we won the match was in the plan we had. “They were so focused. It was the only match we played with this cir cumstances, semifinal, we did two years ago in Conference League but we played the second leg away. Now we can feel happy and proud.” The Prince of Wales was in atten dance and even joined in celebrations inside the dressing room afterwards. Emery added: “He was in the dress

victory over Nottingham Forest to overturn a first-leg deficit and reach the Europa League final. Chris Wood’s penalty in the first leg gave Vitor Pereira’s side the edge heading into the second leg but Ollie Watkins levelled the aggregate scores with the opener in the 36th minute. Forest failed to deliver the type of performance that saw them go 10 games unbeaten and they went behind in the tie 13 minutes after the interval courtesy of Emi Buendia’s penalty before John McGinn’s double sealed a 4-1 aggregate win and a trip to Istanbul on May 20. Villa are through to their first

Emery said: “We still have a final to play. We can win and we can lose the final and if we lose we have achieved nothing. “We need the Premier League. We need to try and focus on the match on Sunday to get Champions League positions and hopefully we can get it in the Premier League and then the final.” Nottingham Forest were unable to cling on to their first leg advantage and were beaten for the first time since a 1 0 defeat to Midtjylland in this compe tition in March.

Carrick seeking ‘clarity’ on United future

Ű BY SIMON PEACH

MICHAEL CA RR ICK says “clarity is important” but is more concerned about ending the season strongly than getting answers about his Manchester United future. The club’s decision to turn to their former midfielder, captain and coach following Ruben Amorim’s acrimoni ous January exit has helped the Red Devils rise up to third in the Premier League rankings. Sunday’s 3-2 win against arch-rivals Liverpool meant United secured Champions League qualification with three games to spare, leading talk to naturally turn to key decisions heading into the summer. Transfers are a hot topic as well as the club’s decision on their next head coach, with Carrick seemingly in the box seat to continue beyond his contract expiring at the end of the season. “Clarity is important,” he said ahead of today’s trip to Sunderland. “I think moving forward, it’s come at the time, right at the end of the season, where I think we’ve finished strong, put ourselves in a good position. “And obviously the situation of my role and what it looks like moving forward, I think it’s just the natural time. It was always spoke about towards the end of the season, if not the end of the season, so nothing has really changed, to be honest.” Asked why it has not changed considering he has guided United to a Champions League return, Carrick said:“It’s a matter of days ago and we’ve got eyes on fin ishing the season strongly as well. “I understand the question, I understand the timing of it, but from my point of view right at this stage it’s just putting the boys in a place to finish the season strongly. “Then, as I’ve said all along, and I’m calm about it, it’ll get sorted out when it’s going to get sorted out. Some of it’s out of my hands, so we’ll see what happens.” Carrick has repeatedly struck the same tone over recent weeks, but the squad have been more forthcom ing with their views. Rejuvenated Kobbie Mainoo, fresh from scoring the winner against Liverpool, says the team are willing to die for him, with Matheus Cunha, departing Casemiro and Amad Diallo also backing him for the job. Asked if he would do anything differently if he got the long-term position, Carrick said: “It’s a good ques tion. “I’ve said from the start I’ve never approached a day here in terms of any short-term decisions. Whether that’s different to the outlook of others, I don’t know. “But from myself and the staff we’ve made decisions for the longer-term for the group and individually, play ers, how we treat them and try to help develop them. “I don’t think it would really change the approach about how I’ve tried to go about things. Maybe we’ll get to see, I don’t know. “But certainly, from my point of view, I’ve gone about it in a way that I feel is the right way to do it.”– The Independent

Glasner hails huge Palace achievement

Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr (right) in action with Shakhtar Donetsk’s Eguinaldo during their Conference League semifinal 2nd leg match at Selhurst Park yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Ű BY RACHEL STEINBERG

OLIVE R GLAS N E R hailed Crystal Palace’s “huge European night” after the Eagles booked a Conference League final with Rayo Vallecano on an electric evening at Selhurst Park. Ismaila Sarr now leads the competition with nine goals after scoring in the second half of Palace’s 2-1 semifinal second-leg victory against Shakhtar Donetsk as the hosts settled the tie 5-2 on aggregate. Daniel Munoz instigated a Pedro Henrique own goal to open the scoring in the 25th min ute, cancelled out by Eguinaldo’s stylish equal iser before the break – before Sarr, already instrumental to Palace’s European run, ensured more history will be written this season. “It was electric,” said Glasner. “A fantastic atmosphere. A great night at Selhurst. And of course it was the right result and a huge achievement, huge congratulations and credit to the players. “The commitment today, the effort, the dis cipline, was exceptional, and I always believed that we would create chances and score goals.

yesterday when Palace supporters learned that not only had their side reached a first European final, but that Aston Villa had thrashed Forest 4-0 in the all-English Europa League semifinal to advance 4-1 on aggregate. Glasner reiterated sentiments he had shared with his side after the FA Cup, telling his players: “These moments you can’t buy. These moments you have to deserve. I think every body, every single player, every one of the staff, deserved this moment. “The feeling that you have in this last min ute, when you walk around the stadium, on the pitch, this feeling – I think that’s why we all love football.” – The Independent

“At the end we all got the reward with Ismaila Sarr scoring the goal. A huge perform ance, and a huge European night.” Palace are now 90 minutes from sealing a trip to the Europa League, the competition they initially thought they had qualified for when they beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup – their first major silverware – last year. Controversy around multi-club ownership and a failed appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ultimately resulted in the Eagles being admitted to the Conference League and Nottingham Forest taking the Europa League place. There was a distinct cheer at Selhurst Park