Two former European Cup champions, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, representing England’s Midlands, faced off at the City Ground with dreams of continental glory. At this stage, neither side could afford a misstep that might jeopardize the rest of the tie. However, a naive penalty conceded by Digne and converted by Chris Wood allowed Nottingham Forest to take a lead into the second leg in Birmingham. Unai Emery and his team will need to dig deep to overturn the deficit.
Full Time: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa
The match was a fairly even affair in terms of quality, but Forest showed green shoots and earned an advantage over Emery’s men.
90+5′ – FINAL WHISTLE! Forest take the win.
90+4′ End-to-end action but no real danger at the moment. Villa want it but can’t even get a shot off.
90+3′ Very open but nothing comes of it. Ortega collects the second ball.
90+2′ Another corner for Villa!
90′ – 5 MINUTES ADDED TIME
90′ – Forest Substitution: Igor Jesus off, Yates on.
90′ – CHANCE! Tielemans! High! He got to the ball late and sent his shot well over. He had the chance.
88′ Forest are slowing the game down, not wanting much to happen.
86′ Aston Villa are keeping possession but don’t seem desperate for an equalizer. They’re not pushing as they should…
83′ Gibbs-White and Williams nearly created a perfect attack. Great play.
81′ Villa are coming into this stage a bit better, but Forest are defending with everything.
79′ – Triple Villa Substitution: McGinn, Buendía, and Digne off; Douglas, Maatsen, and Sancho on.
78′ – Yellow Card for Tielemans! A hard tackle on Anderson. Clear yellow card. Late and reckless.
76′ – CHANCE! Rogers! Header goes wide! He misjudged the timing.
75′ – Forest Substitution: Aina off, Abbott on.
74′ This could change the course of the match, and also the tie.
72′ Forest take the lead; Villa will need to give more if they want to leave with something positive today.
71′ – GOAL! Wood scores for Forest! Into the top corner!
70′ – VAR Check: Penalty awarded!
69′ – VAR Review: The referee is going to the monitor.
68′ – VAR Check: The ball doesn’t go out of play and hits Digne’s hand. It’s clear. The VAR can intervene.
67′ – Controversial Referee Decision: Forest are asking for a penalty!
66′ Villa are raising the tempo a little, but the pass to Buendía was a bit too long. Emery is frustrated…
65′ Dibu (Martínez) is secure in the air. He dealt easily with Forest’s corner.
64′ The pace is shameful. Players are walking at times when playing out from the back. You can tell there’s a second leg and they don’t want to make mistakes.
62′ Still nothing noteworthy happening. Just throw-ins and midfield duels.
59′ – Controversial Referee Decision: Another foul the referee missed!
