Nottingham Forest moved closer to a first European final in nearly half a century after Chris Wood’s second-half penalty secured a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final at the City Ground.
The decisive moment came in the 71st minute when Forest were awarded a penalty after Villa defender Lucas Digne was penalised for handball. Wood stepped up and blasted his spot-kick high past goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, leaving the Argentine with no chance.
The result gives Forest a narrow advantage ahead of next week’s return leg at Villa Park, where they will seek to book their place in a first continental final since 1979.
“It’s nice to have the advantage, but going to Villa Park will be a tough game,” Wood said after the match. “We’ve done the job here at home and now we need to build on it next week.”
The victory extended Forest’s unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions and continued an impressive European campaign in their first season back on the continental stage in 30 years.
Managed by Vítor Pereira, Forest are balancing their European ambitions with a tense domestic battle. The club remains locked in a Premier League relegation fight, sitting five points above the bottom three. Winning the Europa League would secure automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League, creating the remarkable possibility of Forest competing in Europe’s top club tournament even if they were relegated.
Forest’s rich European history includes back-to-back European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980. This season marks their first appearance in a European semi-final since the 1984 UEFA Cup.
Aston Villa, themselves former European champions, remain well placed to qualify for next season’s Champions League through their league position. Unai Emery’s side currently sit fifth in the Premier League, and the Villa manager brings significant pedigree to the competition, having won the Europa League four times during his career.
Elsewhere in the Europa League, Braga claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Freiburg in Portugal. Substitute Mario Dorgeles struck deep into stoppage time to hand the Portuguese side a slender advantage ahead of the second leg in Germany. Braga had earlier missed a penalty when Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu denied Rodrigo Zalazar.
In the Conference League, Crystal Palace took a major step toward the final with a 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in Krakow. Ismaïla Sarr opened the scoring inside the first minute, while Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen also found the net. The match was played in Poland due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Rayo Vallecano also earned a 1-0 first-leg win over Strasbourg in the competition’s other semi-final.
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