Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa: Aina injury causes concern as Tricky Trees put one foot in European final

There was clear concern for Super Eagles star Ola Aina as the Nigerian star was forced off the pitch with an injury in the 70th minute during Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 Europa League semi-final first-leg win over Aston Villa.

Despite losing Aina, Nottingham Forest were able to secure a crucial victory ahead of the second leg thanks to Chris Woods’ penalty mere minutes after the Nigerian star was substituted.

What initially looked set to be a cagey affair slowly came to life midway through the first half, with Stefan Ortega producing early saves to deny Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, while Forest also threatened through some bright attacking play.

Emiliano Martínez then had to scramble desperately to stop Igor Jesus’ close-range effort from crossing the line, preserving Villa’s record of not conceding first in their last five Europa League away matches.

Chances remained limited before the break, though both teams emerged with greater attacking intent in the second half.

Ollie Watkins tested Ortega early after the restart, but the breakthrough came in controversial fashion when referee João Pinheiro awarded Forest a penalty following a VAR review after Omari Hutchinson’s cross struck Lucas Digne’s outstretched arm.

Chris Wood made no mistake from the spot, hammering his effort into the top corner to score in consecutive games for the first time since returning from injury.

Villa failed to mount the expected response after going behind, with Forest instead looking more likely to score again as they comfortably saw out the win. Unai Emery’s men now face a major challenge in the second leg.