If there were any doubts at Villa Park, they never showed.
Aston Villa were on top from the start and with a frenzied crowd behind them victory seemed inevitable.
It took 36 minutes for the breakthrough to come, but Villa's victory was expected. They delivered a performance which gave Nottingham Forest nothing, and Villa perhaps could have even gone up one or two notches further.
Villa need to win a trophy under Unai Emery and this is the last chance for the squad as it stands, with the expectation of changes in the summer.
They have the chance to do that against Freiburg in Istanbul and few would bet against them after a devastating performance.
It justified Emery's changes for Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham, a performance which drew so much criticism – but there are no Villa fans worried about that any more.
A Europa League winner three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, Emery holds a special grip on this competition.
He lost with Arsenal to Chelsea in 2019, but his Villa will be favourites in Istanbul in two weeks.
Villa won the European Cup in 1982 and have been without European success since – the class of 2026 may be about to write their names into the club's history.
