Forest Edge Past Villa on Penalties in Europa League Semi-Final First Leg
Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the Europa League semi-final first leg on a controversial penalty converted by Chris Wood in the 70th minute, leaving the tie wide open before the return match at Villa Park.
Nottingham Forest edged past Aston Villa in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final, keeping the tie finely balanced for both clubs.
The 2025-26 UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg on April 30 featured an all-English clash as the "Reds" of Nottingham Forest hosted the "Lions" of Aston Villa at City Ground.
Early chances fell to Villa just nine minutes in, when Morgan Rogers fed Yuri Tielemans, whose powerful right-footed shot from around 25 yards was parried away by Stefan Ortega.
On the 28th minute, Ollie Watkins drove forward and passed to Morgan Rogers, whose left-footed effort from the edge of the penalty area was again denied by Ortega's diving save.
Forest had their opportunity in the 33rd minute when Morgan Gibbs-White cut in from the left and crossed for Igor Jesus, whose volley was superbly saved by Emiliano Martinez. The first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, Villa missed a golden chance in the 57th minute when Rogers received the ball in the penalty area and his deflected shot looped toward Watkins, whose header was incredibly saved by Ortega.
The turning point came in the 70th minute when the referee consulted VAR as Omari Hutchinson chased a ball near the byline. He was fouled and the ball appeared to have already crossed the goal line, but VAR ruled it a handball by Lucas Digne in the penalty area. Chris Wood converted the penalty in the 71st minute, giving Forest a 1-0 lead.
Neither side could add another goal, with Forest securing a narrow 1-0 victory. The second leg will be held at Villa Park on May 7.
In the other semi-final, Braga from Portugal narrowly defeated Freiburg from Germany 2-1 at Estádio Municipal de Braga, with the return match at Freiburg on May 7.
