Prince William, the Prince of Wales, was pictured pumping his fists in the air before celebrating with Aston Villa’s players in the dressing room after they advanced to the Europa League final.
William, a Villa fan, was photographed cheering from the stands during the team’s 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, which secured a 4-1 aggregate win and set up a final against Freiburg on Thursday.
Unai Emery, Aston Villa’s manager, confirmed that William had joined in the post-match celebrations.
“He was in the dressing room with the players and with me, and of course, he is so happy as well,” the manager said.
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William was accompanied by club ambassador Ahmed Elmohamady to the Villa Park stands in Birmingham.
Chris Wood’s penalty in the first leg gave Vitor Pereira’s Forest the lead, but Ollie Watkins levelled the aggregate score in the 36th minute.
According to the BBC, Forest failed to deliver the type of performance that saw them go ten games unbeaten, falling behind 13 minutes after the break to Emi Buendia’s penalty, before John McGinn’s double sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory and a trip to Istanbul.
William, the Football Association’s patron, is an avid Villa fan who has followed the Midlands club since he was in school.
He was born less than a month after Villa’s most famous continental victory, defeating Bayern Munich to win the European Cup in May 1982.
(BBC)
