Nottingham Forest seized the advantage in their Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa as Chris Wood's penalty sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Thursday.

Wood netted from the spot in the second half after a needless handball by Villa defender Lucas Digne in the all-English clash at the City Ground.

The New Zealand striker's fifth goal of an injury-plagued season moved Forest within touching distance of their first European final since 1980.

Vitor Pereira's side are on a nine-match winning run in all competitions, carrying them five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone and to the brink of the Europa showpiece.

Forest will make the short 50-mile trip to Villa Park for the second leg on May 7, with the winners facing Braga or Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on May 20.

Braga won 2-1 in the other semi-final first leg on Thursday.

Making it to Istanbul would be a dramatic finale to Forest's soap opera season, featuring four managers and a tense relegation battle.

After the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche, Pereira had led Forest to their first European semi-final since losing against Anderlecht in the 1983-84 Uefa Cup.

Crowned European champions in 1979 and 1980 in their golden era under Brian Clough, Forest have been starved of success over the last three decades.

Playing in Europe for the first time since 1995-96, Forest are chasing a first major trophy since the 1990 League Cup.

They have not been in any major final since losing against Manchester United in the 1992 League Cup.

Villa boss Unai Emery has a well-earned reputation as a Europa League specialist after winning the competition three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, as well finishing as a runner-up with Arsenal.

But Villa have been semi-final flops under Emery, losing in the last four against Olympiacos in the 2024 Uefa Conference League and Crystal Palace in the 2025 FA Cup.

Villa remain on course to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-five finish in the Premier League.

But crashing out against Forest would sting, given Villa haven't won a major trophy since the 1996 League Cup, while their last major continental final was the iconic 1982 European Cup triumph against Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace took a giant step towards the Uefa Conference League final in their first season of European football with a 3-1 semi-final, first leg win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen in Poland put the Eagles in command of the tie despite a spirited performance from the Ukrainian league leaders. (AFP)



Edited by Robert Kemp