Aston Villa Double Winners and Premier League Top 4

Aston Villa Treble-Chasing Season: Europa League Winners, Carabao Cup Winners and Premier League Top 4

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Aston Villa’s 2025/26 season turned into one of the most complete campaigns I have had on Football Manager 26. This was not a one-match miracle or a lucky cup run. Across the full season, Villa competed on every front, won two major trophies, secured Champions League football, and finished only three points behind Premier League champions Manchester City.

The save was played with a medium database, Premier League only loaded, and no in-game editor used. The file was saved 9 times across the season, mainly to protect progress because the game is still not fully stable.

By the end of the season, Aston Villa had become:

UEFA Europa League winners
Carabao Cup winners
Premier League 4th place finishers
Champions League qualified
Only 3 points behind Manchester City

For a first season with Aston Villa, this was close to a dream campaign.

Premier League Performance

The Premier League table shows how strong this Villa side became over the full season.

Aston Villa finished 4th with 82 points, behind only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Final top four:

Manchester City – 85 points
Arsenal – 84 points
Liverpool – 84 points
Aston Villa – 82 points

That means Villa were not simply scraping Champions League football. They were in the title conversation until the final stretch of the season. The final match against Manchester City ended 1-1 at the Etihad, which was a strong result, but City still managed to hold on and win the league.

Villa’s league campaign had several impressive wins:

5-1 vs Newcastle
5-1 vs Fulham
5-0 vs Bournemouth
4-1 vs Wolves
4-0 vs Nottingham Forest
3-1 vs Manchester United away
2-0 vs Tottenham
1-0 vs Liverpool

The team showed that it could dominate weaker sides, beat direct rivals, and still compete against elite clubs away from home.

Europa League Glory

The biggest achievement of the season was winning the UEFA Europa League.

Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the final at Beşiktaş Stadium. It was a clean, professional final performance, and Villa finished the competition as deserved champions.

The Europa League run included strong knockout results:

4-0 vs Samsunspor
1-2 away vs LOSC
2-1 vs LOSC at home
3-0 vs Lyon away
1-0 vs Lyon at home
3-0 vs Nottingham Forest in the final

Villa also finished as the team with the most goals in the Europa League, scoring 34 goals. That tells the story properly. This was not a defensive, survival-style European run. Villa attacked the competition and became the most dangerous side in it.

The club also became the current Europa League holder in the save, joining recent winners like Spurs, Atalanta and Sevilla.

Carabao Cup Win

The domestic cup success came through the Carabao Cup, where Aston Villa defeated Tottenham 1-0 in the final.

The cup run included some difficult matches:

3-0 vs Barnsley
2-1 vs Chelsea
5-0 vs Sheffield United
Penalty win vs Burnley in the semi-final
1-0 vs Tottenham in the final

Winning a final against Spurs was a big moment because it gave the season its first major trophy and gave the squad real momentum for the final months.

Aston Villa also topped the Carabao Cup team stats with:

Most goals – 15
Most shots – 3 listed in competition summary
Most yellow cards – 9

Ollie Watkins was also one of the key creative players in the competition, finishing with 4 assists.

Squad Performance

The squad numbers show that this was not carried by one player only. Many players contributed across the season.

Key performers:

Morgan Rogers
51 starts, 18 goals, 13 assists, 7.18 average rating

Morgan Rogers was probably the star of the season. He delivered goals, assists and consistency from attacking midfield and wide areas. His rating was the highest among the regular outfield players.

Ollie Watkins
54 appearances, 22 goals, 9 assists

Watkins was still the main attacking weapon. He was not just scoring; he also contributed with assists and movement across the front line.

Youri Tielemans
40 starts, 12 goals, 5 assists, 7.03 average rating

Tielemans had a superb season from midfield. His goal contribution was excellent for a central player, and he gave the team control in possession.

Matty Cash
45 starts, 10 goals, 11 assists

This is one of the wildest numbers in the save. A full-back producing 21 direct goal contributions is massive. Cash clearly became a major attacking outlet.

Ian Maatsen
38 starts, 7 goals, 10 assists, 7.04 average rating

Maatsen gave similar attacking quality from the left side. Villa had real threat from both full-back areas.

Emiliano Martínez
61 appearances, 7.01 average rating

Martínez played almost everything and remained one of the most reliable players in the squad. Having an elite goalkeeper made a huge difference across the season.

Pau Torres
47 starts, 6 goals, 3 assists

Pau Torres was not only important defensively, but also contributed goals. For a centre-back, that return is excellent.