Forest beat Villa in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final; Palace wins away Conference League match

Chris Wood scored from the penalty spot to give Nottingham Forest a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of the all-English Europa League semi-final on Thursday.

In a clash between two teams hoping to revive former European glory, victory at the City Ground took Forest one step closer to what would be their first continental competition final in 46 years.

Wood fired his penalty high into the net in the 71st minute, denying goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez a chance to save after defender Lucas Digne was whistled for handball.

«It’s nice to have the advantage, but going to Villa Park will be a tough game,» said the New Zealand forward TNT Sports. “But we got the job done here at home and hopefully we can continue building next week.”

Vítor Pereira’s side extended their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions. Forest visit Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday, before the second leg of the semi-final in Birmingham next Thursday.

Forest are in a relegation battle – currently five points above the Premier League drop zone. The winner of the Europa League title will earn a place in next season’s Champions League. That could create a scenario where Forest are relegated to England’s second division but also play in Europe’s top club competition.

Forest have returned to Europe after thirty years to reach their fourth semi-final, but for the first time since the 1984 UEFA Cup. That was after Forest dominated the European Cup – the forerunner of the Champions League – and won the trophy in 1979 and 1980. Villa became European champions two years later.

Villa are fifth in the Premier League and have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League in their own country.

Villa coach Unai Emery has won the Europa League title four times: three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.

In the other semi-final, Braga defeated Freiburg 2–1 after substitute Mario Dorgeles scored the winner in second-half stoppage time in Portugal.

At 1-1, Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu denied Braga a golden opportunity to restore the lead by diving to the right and saving a penalty from Rodrigo Zalazar.

The Portuguese side will be hoping to advance to the final again after losing 1-0 to domestic rivals Porto in the 2011 title match.

The second legs are next Thursday and the final is on May 20 in Istanbul.

In the third-tier Conference League, Ismaïla Sarr scored in the opening minute as Crystal Palace defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 3–1 in the opening match of their semi-final.

Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen also scored for Palace after Oleh Ocheretko equalized for Shakhtar.

The game was played in Krakow, Poland, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The second stage is next Thursday in London.

Rayo Vallecano defeated Strasbourg 1-0 in Thursday’s other semi-final.

The final is on May 27 in Leipzig, Germany.

Published on May 1, 2026