Home UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE UEL Vitor Pereira Eyes Glorious Season Finale for Nottingham Forest Against Aston Villa

Vitor Pereira Eyes Glorious Season Finale for Nottingham Forest Against Aston Villa

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Vitor Pereira
Pereira urges Nottingham Forest to finish season strong ahead of Villa clash

Forest hold a 1-0 lead over Villa in the Europa League semi-final as Vitor Pereira looks to guide the club to its first continental final since Brian Clough’s era.


Aston Villa have not won a major trophy since 1996 and haven’t reached a European final since 1982, while Nottingham Forest aim to end a 46-year wait...


Vitor Pereira wants Nottingham Forest to finish a turbulent campaign on a “fantastic” note when they meet Aston Villa on Thursday, with the Europa League final now within reach.


Holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg of the semi-final, Pereira’s team is hoping to make it to a European final for the first time since 1979.


Forest haven’t contested a major European final since Brian Clough’s era, when he led the club to back-to-back European Cup titles in 1979 and 1980.


This marks Forest’s first European semi-final since the 1983/84 season, and they hold a narrow lead after Chris Wood’s penalty at the City Ground last week.


Should Pereira’s squad secure victory at Villa Park, they’ll meet either Portugal’s Braga or Germany’s Freiburg in the Istanbul final on May 20.


Forest head into the return leg with momentum after a 3-1 victory at Chelsea on Monday, a result that put them six points clear of the Premier League drop zone.


Pereira rotated heavily for the Chelsea match, making eight changes, yet the reserve lineup delivered a third straight league win and extended Forest’s unbeaten run across all competitions to 10 games.


With his key players rested, Pereira is confident Forest can close out the season in style.


“I said to them: you are a special group because you work with four different managers, different ways to think football, different methodologies,” said Pereira, who took charge in February.


“You faced a difficult season. Now you are in a moment we decide everything. We can finish the season in a fantastic way.”


A Lasting Legacy

Securing the Europa League while also guaranteeing Premier League safety would cement Pereira’s place in Nottingham Forest history.


Even so, Pereira said such an achievement wouldn’t put him on the same level as Brian Clough, who guided Forest to a league title and is honored with a statue in Nottingham’s city center.


“If we want to put our name in the history of this club, we need to get to the final, to win the final,” he said.


“I don't want my statue anywhere but we can imagine what he was in this city. For the new generations, for sure it's an inspiration for us.”




Forest are back in European competition for the first time since the 1995/96 season, and are aiming for their first major trophy since winning the 1990 League Cup.


The club hasn’t reached a major final since their 1992 League Cup defeat to Manchester United.


Following the dismissals of Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, and Sean Dyche, Viktor Pereira has breathed new life into a club that has gone three decades without significant success.


By contrast with Forest’s recent momentum, Villa have now lost three games in a row across all competitions after Unai Emery rotated his squad with seven changes for Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to struggling Tottenham.


“I am here for more than three years, and how we have done everything, I don't forget it,” said a visibly frustrated Emery, revealing he had to remind his players of the core principles he has instilled since taking charge.


“We spoke in the dressing room after the first half about it. We can perform better or worse, but I am not losing my mind and my point of view about how I want to get it.”


Unai Emery is widely regarded as a Europa League expert, having lifted the trophy three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, and also reaching the final with Arsenal.




Yet Villa have repeatedly fallen short in semi-finals under his management, losing at that stage to Olympiakos in the 2023/24 UEFA Conference League and to Crystal Palace in last season’s FA Cup.


Villa’s last major trophy came in the 1996 League Cup, and their most recent appearance in a major European final was the 1982 European Cup win over Bayern Munich.




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