Prince William joyfully celebrates Aston Villa goal in crunch European clash

Prince William celebrated wildly after Aston Villa hammered home four goals to see them through to the Europa Cup final. The future king leaped from his seat and punched the air in sheet delight after his beloved Aston Villa moved closer to reach their first European final in 44 years. Villans' fan William , 43, was seen celebrating as Aston Villa took an early lead. William's wild celebrations were a far cry from the nervy demeanour he cut before kick-off. Villa went into tonight's crunch fixture one goal down yet they fired home four goals against Nottingham Forest , winning 4-1 on aggregate. Stakes for the game were high, as the Europa League winner will secure a place in next season's lucrative Champion's League. The royal could not hold back the joy as he celebrated one of Villa's goals as his fellow fans celebrated their side's stellar performance. William has been a keen Villa's supporter for many years and has often been spotted at Villa Park. In 2015, he clearly laid out why he decided to follow the Claret and Blue over other more famous sides. "I was looking around for clubs," he told Gary Linekar. "All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn't want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams. "I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments. Aston Villa's always had a great history." Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn heaped praise on manager Unai Emery following the win, telling TNT Sports: "He’s experienced a lot more European semi-finals than us. In the Conference League semi-final we probably went a little bit too gung-ho, but today we managed it. "He’s been amazing, but so have all the managers I’ve played under. Steve Bruce gave me the confidence to play in England, Dean Smith gave me the confidence to play in the Premier League , Steven Gerrard taught me how to be a leader." Emery has won the Europa League four times and will secure his place as a Villa legend should he help bring back a trophy to Birmingham with a win in Istanbul, Turkey. While Villa lost their previous chances at silverware with Emery at the helm, they will be buoyed by their performance tonight.