Chris Wood converted a second-half penalty to hand Nottingham Forest a narrow 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the first leg of their all-English UEFA Europa League semi-final.
The decisive spot-kick, struck with confidence from 12 yards, leaves Forest just one match away from reaching their first European final in 46 years.
Villa started brightly and nearly went ahead early on when Youri Tielemans tested goalkeeper Stefan Ortega with a long-range effort that was pushed away. Ortega was called into action again before the half-hour mark, reacting quickly to deny Morgan Rogers following a swift counter-attack.
Forest gradually settled into the contest and came close to breaking the deadlock in the 33rd minute, only for Emiliano Martinez to produce a stunning save. The Villa goalkeeper stretched to keep out a close-range effort from Igor Jesus, reacting sharply to prevent the ball from crossing the line.
Shortly after the restart, Ortega was again at the centre of the action, making a reflex save to deny Ollie Watkins after a deflected shot fell kindly to the striker.
The breakthrough arrived with 20 minutes remaining when Forest were awarded a penalty after a VAR review led by Tiago Martins. The decision came after the ball, delivered by Morgan Gibbs-White, was handled by Lucas Digne inside the box.
Wood stepped up and powered his effort beyond Martinez to give Forest the lead.
The home side then focused on protecting their advantage, while Villa struggled to create clear-cut chances in response. Their best opportunity came late on when Tielemans found space, but his effort sailed over the bar.
In the other semi-final, Mario Dorgeles scored a stoppage-time winner to give Braga a 2-1 victory over Freiburg, taking a slim lead into the return leg in Germany.
