Aston Villa's Historic Triumph and Evann Guessand's Unique Opportunity

In Istanbul, Aston Villa finally ended a 28–year wait for major silverware. And somewhere in the background of that triumph, a little‑noticed storyline edged closer to European football history.

Villa’s night, Emery’s stage

Under the lights at Besiktas Park, Villa were ruthless. Youri Tielemans cracked open the Europa League final with a superb strike, Emiliano Buendia added another before the break, and Morgan Rogers killed off Freiburg on 57 minutes. A 3-0 win, controlled, confident, and long overdue for a club of Villa’s stature.

It delivered their first major trophy since 1996. It also pushed Unai Emery onto a pedestal he knows better than anyone. The Spaniard has now lifted this competition five times, equalling the record for the most successful manager in Europa League history. This is his domain. His competition. His stage.

But while the headlines fix on Emery and Villa’s rebirth, another story runs quietly alongside it – one that could rewrite the record books.

The forgotten forward

Evann Guessand was nowhere near the pitch in Istanbul. No place on the teamsheet. No cameo from the bench. Not even in the conversation when the starting XI dropped.

Yet the Ivory Coast international stands on the brink of something no player has ever done: winning two different European competitions in the same season.

Guessand arrived at Villa last summer from Reims in a £30.5 million deal, one of only two permanent senior signings the club made. He barely had time to settle. By January, he was out on loan, sent to Crystal Palace to sharpen their attack and his own prospects.

For most players, that would have meant a clean break. New club, new focus, old campaign parked. Guessand’s year has been anything but ordinary.

Two clubs, two campaigns, one shot at history

Before he left Birmingham, the 24-year-old had already played his part in Villa’s European run. Seven appearances in the Europa League group stages, two goals, enough minutes to qualify him for a winners’ medal. He helped lay the foundations for the trophy Emery lifted in Istanbul.

Then came Palace. At Selhurst Park, Guessand slotted into a side chasing its own European dream. He featured five times in the Conference League, helping Palace march all the way to the final, where they will face Rayo Vallecano next Wednesday.

Win that, and Guessand will complete a double no one in European football has ever achieved: a Europa League and Conference League title in the same season, with two different clubs, in two different roles, across two different dressing rooms.

He has already done enough to earn a medal in both competitions. The only question left is whether Palace can finish the job.

Racing the clock

The journey has not been smooth. Guessand’s push for history stalled in March when he suffered a knee injury in the Conference League quarter-final against Fiorentina. At that point, the dream looked in danger of fading before it truly caught fire.

But he made it back. On Sunday, he returned to the pitch as a stoppage-time substitute in Palace’s 2-2 draw with Brentford, a brief but important step: proof he is fit enough to be involved when it matters most.

Palace are expected to make his move permanent in the summer as they prepare for life after Oliver Glasner. The club is changing, the manager is on his way out, and Guessand is being lined up as part of the next chapter.

Before that, there is one more night under European lights to navigate.

Villa have already written their line in the history books. If Palace can overcome Rayo Vallecano, Evann Guessand’s name might end up etched even deeper – not as a star of either final, but as the man who turned a split season into a once‑in‑a‑lifetime double.