Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa highlights: Chris Wood penalty swings Europa League semi-final first leg Forest's way

Chris Wood's second-half penalty gave Nottingham Forest a narrow 1-0 victory over their Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.

Match in brief: Chris Wood gives Forest deserved win

After a cautious start, Forest began to make the better chances as Morgan Gibbs-White put one header wide and another on to the roof of the net, Elliot Anderson also firing over.

Although Villa responded with a smart curling effort from Morgan Rogers that needed Stefan Ortega's intervention to stop it from sneaking inside the far post, the hosts continued to press and Emiliano Martínez had to react swiftly to keep out an Igor Jesus attempt on the line.

Igor Jesus turns away in disbelief after Emiliano Martínez saves his shot on the lineGetty Images

After the restart, Ortega also showed sharp reactions as he saved from Ollie Watkins at point-blank range after good build-up play involving John McGinn and Rogers.

But then, as the match moved into the closing stages, Forest claimed the winner. Omari Hutchinson managed to keep the ball in play and Lucas Digne, with his arms up in the air, handled to concede a penalty. Up stepped Wood, whose emphatic finish gives his side a narrow advantage to take into next week's return.

Chris Wood hammers in Nottingham Forest's opener from the penalty spotGetty Images

Steve Bates, match reporter

Vitor Pereira's side executed a tactical masterclass against Mr Europa League himself, Unai Emery. Forest had an intoxicating mix of energy, desire and ambition which allowed them to take control of this tie against a Villa side who were not at their best. It's only half-time, but Emery knows his team need a big performance in the second leg to keep their Istanbul dream alive.

Reaction

Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest striker: "It's one leg of a two-leg tie. It's nice to have the advantage but we know going to Villa Park it's going to be a tough game. They're good at their place. We did the job here at home and hopefully we can take it into next week."

Vitor Pereira, Nottingham Forest head coach: "They're a very tough team but we competed with them. It was a good game. I have the honour and the privilege to be the manager of these boys; they are fantastic. Their spirit, four managers in a season and finishing at this level and competing together – it makes it an honour for me."

Matty Cash, Aston Villa defender: "We are still in the game. We are in a European semi-final back at Villa Park and we have loads to play for. We have just spoken in the dressing room, the manager has said the game is nowhere near done. There's loads of football still to play with our people at home."

Omari Hutchinson, Nottingham Forest winger: "This is just the first game, we have another one to go next week but we are going to stay concentrated and look forward to it. It was a tough game but we saw it through. We've been having to prove the doubters wrong the whole season and not feel sorry for ourselves."

Key stats

• Nottingham Forest have lost only three of their last 13 Europa League matches (W8 D2).
• Forest have won five of their last seven home Europa League games (L2), keeping clean sheets in each of those five victories.
• This was the first all‑English European semi‑final since the 2008/09 Champions League, when Manchester United defeated Arsenal 4-1 on aggregate.
• Aston Villa's defeat ended a run of nine successive Europa League victories.
• This was only Villa's third loss in their last 18 European fixtures (W15).

Line-ups

Nottingham Forest: Ortega; Aina (Abbott 75), Milenković, Morato, Williams; Hutchinson, Domínguez, Anderson, Gibbs-White; Igor Jesus (Yates 90); Wood

Aston Villa: Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Pau Torres, Digne (Douglas Luiz 78); McGinn (Sancho 79), Tielemans, Onana (Bogarde 55), Buendia (Maatsen 79); Rogers, Watkins