Morgan Rogers, the 23-year-old England midfielder, was named UEFA’s Europa League Player of the Season after helping Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in the final in Istanbul on Wednesday, ending the club’s 30-year wait for a major trophy [1, 2, 3]. Rogers scored Villa’s third goal and provided an assist in the championship match [1, 2, 3].
Over the course of the tournament, Rogers scored three goals and recorded five assists in 15 appearances, playing a total of 1,088 minutes—67 more than any other Villa player [1, 2, 3]. Four Aston Villa players, including goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, midfielder John McGinn, attacking midfielder Emi Buendia, and Rogers himself, were named to the UEFA Europa League Team of the Season [2].
Freiburg forward Johan Manzambi was awarded the Europa League Revelation of the Season. The 20-year-old featured in all 15 matches, scored twice—including a semi-final goal—and provided two assists [1, 3].
UEFA’s technical panel ranked goals from Villa’s Buendia and Youri Tielemans as the fifth and seventh best of the tournament, while the top goal was scored by Jones El-Abdellaoui of Celta Vigo [2].
Nottingham Forest also earned recognition with players Igor Jesus and Morato included in the Team of the Season after their semi-final run [2].
Morgan Rogers is expected to be named in England manager Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the upcoming World Cup, marking the next major step of his career [2].
