Chris Wood’s Penalty Gives Nottingham Forest a 1-0 Win Over Aston Villa in Europa League Semifinal 1st Leg

Chris Wood defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 against Aston Villa in the first match of the English Europa League semi-final with the goal he scored from the penalty.

The victory at the City Ground takes Forest a step closer to their first continental competition final in 46 years in a clash between two teams looking to revive former European glory.

Wood sent the penalty high into the net in the 71st minute, giving goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez no chance to save after defender Lucas Digne was whistled for handball.

“It’s nice to have the advantage but it’s going to be a tough game going to Villa Park,” the New Zealand striker told TNT Sports. “But we got it done here at home and now hopefully we’ll get going into next week.”

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

Forest are battling relegation; they are currently five points above the Premier League’s relegation zone. The team that wins the Europa League championship will have the right to participate in next season’s Champions League. This could create a scenario where Forest would be relegated to England’s second tier but could also play in Europe’s top club competition.

Forest returned to Europe in 30 years to reach their fourth semi-final, but their first since the 1984 UEFA Cup. This was after Forest dominated the European Cup, the forerunner of the Champions League, winning the trophy in 1979 and 1980. Villa became European champions two years later.

Villa sit fifth in the Premier League and have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League domestically.

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

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

At 1-1, Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu denied Braga the opportunity to take the lead by diving to his right to save Rodrigo Zalazar’s penalty kick.

The Portuguese team hopes to reach the final again after losing 1-0 to its local rival Porto in the 2011 championship match.

The rematches will be played next Thursday and the final will be played in Istanbul on May 20.

Sarr scored early at Crystal Palace In the third-tier Conference League, Ismaïla Sarr scored in the opening minute as Crystal Palace defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 in the first leg of the semi-final.

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

The match was played in Krakow, Poland, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The second match will be played in London next Thursday.

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

The final will be held in Leipzig, Germany, on May 27.