Nottingham Forest recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win Aston Villa in their Europa League semifinal first leg encounter on Thursday night.
In the all-English semifinal affair, Chris Wood second half penalty proved decisive as the Tricky Trees hold a narrow advantage heading into next week’s second leg.
Nottingham Forest entered the clash on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run across all competitions, while Aston Villa were also on a winning streak in Europe.
The first half started with the visitors on the front foot and the home side only had Stefan Ortega to thank for keeping them in the game.
Then, Forest were almost in front later in the half through Igor Jesus, whose effort looked destined to find the net. However, Emiliano Martinez produced a remarkable stop to keep the scoreline level heading into the break.
Both teams created chances to score once again in the second half until the decisive point of the game when a penalty was awarded after a lengthy VAR review.
Omari Hutchinson’s cross was met by the outstretched hands of Lucas Digne inside the area, leading to a spot-kick being awarded.
Wood, who only recently returned to injury, fired home emphatically past Martinez to give Forest the 1-0 lead in the tie.
Youri Tielemans and Jadon Sancho had chances to equalize for Aston Villa, but could not find the net as the game ended 1-0 in favour of Forest.
Just one goal separates both sides heading into the second leg at Villa Park, with the winner advancing to the final against Braga or Freiburg.
The Portuguese side defeated the German side 2-1 in the other semifinal, with Mario Dorgeles snatching a stoppage time winner in the clash.
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