Europa League: Nottingham Forest down Aston Villa in first leg
01 May 2026

Nottingham Forest clinched a vital 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of their 2025-26 UEFA Europa League semi-final.

The only goal came from Chris Wood, who converted a penalty awarded after VAR confirmed Lucas Digne's handball in the box.

The match was intense with both teams having their chances but it was Nottingham Forest's tactical discipline and high pressing that eventually secured them the win.

How did the match pan out?
Goalkeeper's heroics

Aston Villa's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was in top form, making an incredible one-handed save to deny Igor Jesus in the first half.

However, it was Nottingham Forest who broke the deadlock in the second half when Wood converted a penalty after Digne's handball.

The win gives Nottingham Forest a slender advantage going into next week's second leg at Villa Park.

Emery slams VAR after Anderson escape red card
VAR controversy

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery voiced his displeasure with VAR after Elliot Anderson escaped a red card for a challenge on Ollie Watkins.

He said, "It's a huge, huge mistake from VAR... It's not fair."

Despite the loss, Emery was hopeful about the second leg and stressed that they need to regroup for their return fixture.

Gibbs-White praises Pereira for Nottingham Forest's performance
Manager's impact

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White lauded his manager Vitor Pereira for instilling confidence in the team and allowing them to play with freedom.

He acknowledged that while they have taken a lead, there is still much work to do in the second leg.

Both teams will now prepare for their upcoming matches, with Nottingham Forest facing Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday and Aston Villa hosting Tottenham before their crucial second leg against Forest.

Forest are unbeaten in 9 games across all competitions
Fact

As per Opta, only Bournemouth (15) are on a longer ongoing unbeaten run among Premier League sides in all competitions than Nottingham Forest (9 - W6 D3). Meanwhile , no side has kept more clean sheets than Forest's six since Vítor Pereira's first game.

A look at the match stats
Fact

Forest had 5 shots on target from 11 attempts. Villa managed 10 attempts with 4 shots being on target. In terms of touches in the opposition box, Villa (23) edged past the home side (19). Forest had 50.20% ball possession.