UEL: Forest Edge Villa in Europa League Semi as Wood Converts Spot-Kick

Forest take narrow lead to Villa Park after Europa League semi win

Chris Wood’s second-half penalty gave Nottingham Forest a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of their Europa League semifinal at the City Ground.

Forest take a 1-0 aggregate lead to Villa Park next week. The two-time European champions haven’t won away at Villa since 1994...

  

Nottingham Forest made home advantage count to take the lead in their UEFA Europa League semifinal, beating Aston Villa 1-0 to boost their hopes of a third major European trophy.

As the two former European champions contested the opening minutes of the first all-English European semifinal since 2009, a tight first leg looked likely.

 

But early stops from Stefan Ortega to deny Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, plus some sharp Forest attacks, opened the game up midway through the first half.

Emiliano Martinez’s reaction told the story when he scrambled to keep Igor Jesus’ close-range effort from crossing the line, preserving Villa’s record of not trailing in their last five Europa League away games.

 

That was the last real action of the first half. Both sides came out with renewed intent after the break, and Ollie Watkins’ poke toward goal was comfortably saved by a well-placed Ortega.

A quiet spell followed, so it came as a surprise when referee Joao Pinheiro was sent to the VAR screen and awarded a penalty after Omari Hutchinson cut it back off the byline onto Lucas Digne’s outstretched arm.

  

Chris Wood stayed composed and rifled his penalty into the top left, scoring in consecutive games for the first time since returning from injury.

But early saves from Stefan Ortega to deny Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, along with some sharp Forest build-up play, broke the pattern midway through the first half.

Martinez’s expression said everything when he scrambled to stop Igor Jesus’ close-range shot from crossing the line, preserving Villa’s streak of not trailing in their last five Europa League away matches.

That was it for the first half. Both teams started the second half with more urgency, and Ollie Watkins’ prodded effort was easily gathered by a well-positioned Ortega.

Play went quiet after that, so it was unexpected when referee Joao Pinheiro went to the VAR monitor and pointed to the spot after Omari Hutchinson’s cutback off the byline struck Lucas Digne’s outstretched arm.

Nottingham Forest take a first-leg lead 💪#UEL pic.twitter.com/0NKkfUx9G3

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 30, 2026

Chris Wood kept his cool and smashed his penalty into the top left corner, netting in consecutive matches for the first time since coming back from injury.

The anticipated Villa response never came after the goal. Forest managed the game well and looked the more likely side to add another.

With a top-five Premier League finish all but secured, Unai Emery may rotate his squad this weekend. He’ll need a big second-leg performance to advance from a sixth straight Europa League semifinal as a manager.

  

Forest will be pleased to take an advantage to Villa Park, and they’ll probably need it. They haven’t beaten Villa away from home since 1994.