Nottingham Forest recorded a crucial 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semifinal at the City Ground on Thursday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Tricky Trees secured a slender lead ahead of next week’s second leg clash at Villa Park, with New Zealand international Chris Wood scoring the decisive goal in the second half.
Super Eagles defender Ola Aina was in action for the hosts and delivered an impressive performance at right-back before he was forced off with an injury scare in the second half as Forest continue their pursuit of a first European final appearance since 1980.
Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa: What happened?
Nottingham Forest entered their first European semifinal in 42 years hoping to secure an advantage to take into the second leg. Aston Villa, meanwhile, were in strong form and had enjoyed an impressive run in the competition heading into the clash.
Ola Aina made his 28th appearance of the season for Forest and was hoping to follow up another strong display after his standout showing in the quarter-final win over FC Porto, which secured their place in the last four.
It was the visitors who started brighter, with Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans forcing a save from goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who was in action again to deny Morgan Rogers.
Igor Jesus looked destined to break the deadlock, but Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez produced a stunning stop to keep the scores level.
The decisive moment came in the second half when a cross from Omari Hutchinson hit the outstretched arm of Lucas Digne, which led to a penalty kick after a VAR review.
Chris Wood stepped up and fired past Martinez to put Forest in the lead in the 71st minute and despite Aston Villa’s late pressure, they sealed a 1-0 advantage ahead of next week’s second leg.
Super Eagles players ratings: Ola Aina delivers strong display before injury scare
Nigerian defender Ola Aina has been a key figure for Nottingham Forest since returning from injury in January and he was handed a starting role once again in the semifinal first leg encounter.
Meanwhile, compatriot Taiwo Awoniyi was not involved, having not been registered for the Europa League squad.
Aina was one of the standout performers on the night and ranked among Forest’s top players before he was forced off in the second half with an injury scare after he was on the receiving end of a poor challenge from Lucas Digne.
During his 75 minutes on the pitch, the Super Eagles defender recorded 52 touches and had a passing accuracy of 86% passing. He was equally impressive in defence, keeping Emiliano Buendía quiet throughout the match. Aina also won three duels and won two tackles, which earned him a rating of 7.2 according to Sofascore.
Nottingham Forest will now be hoping the injury sustained by the 29-year-old is not serious, especially during this very important period of the season, given how important his presence is to the squad.
They are set to face Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday as they continue their push for survival, before travelling to Villa Park for the second leg against Aston Villa next Thursday.
