SOCCER: Villa crush Forest 4-0 to reach Europa League final

BIRMINGHAM, England – Aston Villa booked their place in the Europa League final with a commanding 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, completing a 4-1 aggregate victory in the all-English semi-final. John McGinn starred with two late goals as Villa chased their first major trophy in 30 years.

Villa will face Freiburg in the final on May 20 in Istanbul, after the German side defeated Braga 3-1 on the night for a 4-3 aggregate win.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Unai Emery’s team dominated from the start at a vibrant Villa Park. Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the 36th minute, finishing a slick move set up by Emiliano Buendia.

Villa doubled their lead 13 minutes into the second half when Buendia calmly converted a penalty after Nikola Milenkovic fouled Pau Torres in the box.

Captain John McGinn then sealed the victory with two nearly identical strikes in the 77th and 80th minutes, sending the crowd of 43,000 into celebration, with Prince William among the fans in attendance.

Aston Villa last won a major European trophy in 1982 and their most recent silverware came with the 1996 League Cup. Emery, a four-time Europa League winner, has the chance to add a fifth title, this time with an English club. -Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Ken Ferris/Reuters