Aston Villa completes late comeback to beat Salzburg 3–2 in Europa League finale

Aston Villa signed off the opening phase of the Europa League with a dramatic late comeback on Thursday, overturning a two-goal deficit to defeat Salzburg 3–2 at Villa Park and confirm their place among the competition’s top finishers.

The English side had already secured qualification for the knockout rounds, but the victory ensured Unai Emery’s team ended the league phase level on points with leaders Lyon, falling short of top spot only on goal difference. Villa will advance directly to the round of 16 under the Europa League’s new expanded format.

For Villa, the night belonged to 19-year-old Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, whose first senior goal sealed the win in the 87th minute, capping a strong second-half response after a flat opening hour.

Salzburg take early control

Salzburg arrived in Birmingham with nothing to lose and quickly put pressure on the hosts. Their opening goal came through misfortune for Villa when Victor Lindelöf diverted the ball into his own net, giving the Austrian side an early advantage.

The visitors doubled their lead before halftime through Moussa Yeo, who finished confidently to leave Villa facing an uphill task and drawing visible frustration from the home crowd.

Despite controlling possession for long spells, Emery’s side struggled to turn dominance into chances during the first half, with Salzburg compact defensively and efficient on the break.

Villa rally after the break

The momentum shifted decisively after the interval. Morgan Rogers sparked the comeback in the 64th minute, cutting inside and finishing to reduce the deficit and energise the stadium.

Villa continued to press, and the equaliser arrived when Tyrone Mings rose to score, restoring parity and putting Salzburg under sustained pressure for the first time in the match.

As Salzburg dropped deeper, Villa’s intensity told. Jimoh-Aloba, introduced late, struck the winner three minutes from time, sending Villa Park into celebration and underlining the club’s growing depth as they compete across domestic and European fronts.

Standings settled at the top

Despite the win, Villa were unable to overtake Lyon, who defeated PAOK 4–2 despite playing with 10 men for part of the match. The French side finished top of the 36-team standings on goal difference, with both clubs advancing automatically to the last 16.

Under the revised Europa League structure, the top eight teams bypass the playoff round, while sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest two-legged playoffs for the remaining places.

Behind Lyon and Villa, Midtjylland climbed to third after a 2–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, leaving the Danish club two points adrift of the leaders.

Real Betis, Porto, Braga, Freiburg and Roma completed the top eight, though Freiburg slipped to ninth after a 1–0 defeat at Lille, narrowly missing automatic qualification.

Results across Europe

In Seville, former Manchester United winger Antony scored and provided an assist as Real Betis defeated Feyenoord 2–1, a result that secured their position among the automatic qualifiers.

Porto rallied from a goal down to beat Rangers 3–1, moving from ninth to fifth in the standings. Braga drew 0–0 away to Go Ahead Eagles to claim sixth place, while Roma needed a late header from Jan Ziółkowski to salvage a 1–1 draw against Panathinaikos and remain in the top eight.

Elsewhere, Celtic claimed one of the remaining playoff positions with a 4–2 home win over Utrecht, racing into a three-goal lead inside 20 minutes at Celtic Park. The playoff draw is scheduled for Friday.

Nottingham Forest were among the night’s most convincing winners, beating Ferencváros 4–0 with two goals from Igor Jesus.

Tributes for PAOK supporters

Thursday’s matches were also marked by tributes to seven PAOK supporters who died earlier this week in a minibus crash in Romania while travelling to attend Lyon’s match against the Greek club.

A moment of silence was observed at Groupama Stadium in Lyon and in Athens ahead of Panathinaikos’ game with Roma. Players at Lille’s match against Freiburg also joined in a round of applause, UEFA said.

Lyon issued a statement expressing “sincere condolences” to PAOK and the victims’ families, while supporters’ groups from rival Greek clubs, including Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and Aris, released messages of unity and sympathy.