Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa

Nottingham Forest take a 1-0 first-leg advantage over Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League semi-final at The City Ground. Chris Wood's coolly converted penalty proved the decisive blow on a tense night in Nottingham. The breakthrough came in the 71st minute when VAR confirmed a handball by Lucas Digne inside the box. Wood stepped up and sent Emiliano Martínez the wrong way from the spot. The evening wasn't without incident — a heated scuffle broke out after an injury stoppage, and Morgan Gibbs-White briefly left the field hurt before returning. Earlier, Youri Tielemans had tested Stefan Ortega with a fierce long-range effort for the visitors. The narrow result gives Forest a precious platform ahead of the second leg at Villa Park next week. Aston Villa, who showed enough quality to believe they can turn it around, must score to stay in the competition.