BIRMINGHAM, England, ⁠May 7 (Reuters) - Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an ⁠astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager ‌on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.

The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, ​2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) - either ⁠side of a defeat with ⁠Arsenal (2019) - deservedly earning him the epithet "Mr Europa League" from some fans ⁠and ‌media.

Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side ⁠Freiburg.

"His track record speaks for itself," said Villa striker ​Ollie Watkins, heaping ‌praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa ⁠League success. "We ​need to go and win it now."

Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of ⁠the Europa League semi-final to score four ​times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.

"Now we have to look to the final," he said, hoping that Villa will do "something fantastic" ⁠for their fans.

Though thrilled at Thursday's win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with ​fans.

He and his Villa side will be ⁠favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but ​Emery was taking nothing for granted. "Of course ‌German teams are so difficult, their ​coaches, their players are so good," he added of the upcoming opponents.

(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; editing by Pritha Sarkar)