A small but valuable first-leg lead for Forest over Villa

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Nottingham Forest 1 - 0 Aston Villa

Chris Wood handed Nottingham Forest a valuable lead in their Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa.

Author | Kieran M

Stadium | The City Ground

The striker converted from the spot in the 71st minute, after a costly handball from Lucas Digne, to give Vitor Pereira’s side a narrow advantage to defend in next week’s second leg at Villa Park.

It marked the 200th goal of Wood’s career, a notable milestone in what has otherwise been a disrupted season following six months out with a knee injury.

A closer look at what happened


Forest might have been in front earlier but for a superb intervention from Emi Martinez, who clawed Igor Jesus’s effort off the line after 33 minutes.

Villa, who won 3-1 at Villa Park in the Premier League in January, now face the task of overturning the deficit as Unai Emery pursues a fifth Europa League title.

Stefan Ortega produced a series of saves before the break, denying both Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, and he remained alert in the second half to keep out an instinctive finish from Ollie Watkins.

The decisive moment arrived when Wood drove home his penalty after Digne’s lapse in concentration. The left-back raised his arms as Omari Hutchinson attempted to hook a deep cross back into the area, with VAR confirming the ball had not fully crossed the line and remained in play.

Location: The City Ground, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 5FJ, UK

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