Aston Villa’s season has been defined by the lowest nadirs under Unai Emery and, now famously, the highest peaks.It has been a stormy campaign, beginning miserably before spiking, acutely and remarkably, upwards. In the league anyway, players would agree their historic run of 11 straight wins in the winter was influential in securing fourth place and Champions League qualification, even if results plateaued after the new year.This was the window of opportunity for this era to win silverware. And as you all know by now, they did. They are Europa League champions…The Athletic breaks down a volatile, though ultimately jubiliant 2025-26 season…Grade for 2025-25 is… A*How can it be anything but? Perservering through financial restrictions and a limited squad, Villa finished fourth and won a European trophy. Realistically, the end result shows it could not have gone any better, even if that does not tell the full story of the frequent turbulence experienced.Goal of the seasonEmiliano Buendia’s strike away at Tottenham Hotspur. There are several contenders, considering Villa have scored more goals from outside the box than anyone else in the league and have defied expected goals critics. Buendia and Morgan Rogers basically fight between themselves on this front.Although Buendia and Youri Tielemans’ goals in the Europa League final will be etched in the annals of time, the former’s goal away at Spurs was the only one which caused this writer to involuntarily react by letting out noises that still have an unknown origin.Starting from Matty Cash’s exceptional drilled pass upfield despite being the last player back — it was not a clearance — to Buendia’s whipped finish, the move was from back to front and of the highest quality.Emiliano Buendia’s strike at Spurs was the goal of the season (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)Game of the seasonVilla have been involved in a few crackers, yet, inversely, a couple of stinkers, too.For entertainment, the 4-3 victory away at Brighton & Hove Albion springs to mind, but Villa’s best overall performance, under the most intense scrutiny and the highest stakes, was the 4-0 second leg victory in the Europa League semi-finals against Nottingham Forest.