Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will meet in an all-English semi-final in the UEFA Europa League after both clubs secured convincing quarter-final victories on Thursday.
Villa delivered a dominant performance at Villa Park, beating Bologna 4-0 to advance with a 7-1 aggregate triumph. Unai Emery’s side had already taken control of the tie with a 3-1 win in Italy in the first leg.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the 16th minute after a superb team move that involved 14 passes. Morgan Rogers provided the final assist, allowing Watkins to tap in from close range.
The goal was historic for the England striker. It marked his 100th goal for Villa and made him the club’s top scorer in European competitions with 10 goals, surpassing Peter Withe and John McGinn.
Villa had a chance to extend their lead in the 25th minute when Bologna defender Martin Vitik handled a header from Rogers. However, Rogers’ penalty was saved by goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia.
The home side quickly recovered from that miss. Emiliano Buendia fired in a powerful strike just a minute later to double Villa’s advantage.
Rogers then redeemed himself in the 39th minute. His low drive beat Ravaglia at the near post to make it 3-0 and end a 12-game goal drought.
Ezri Konsa added the final goal in the 89th minute with a well-taken volley to complete Villa’s emphatic victory.
The win sends Villa into their second European semi-final under Emery after reaching the Conference League last four in 2024. The Spanish manager is widely regarded as a Europa League specialist, having won the competition four times.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest secured their place in the semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Porto at the City Ground, sealing a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Porto were reduced to 10 men early in the match when defender Jan Bednarek was sent off in the eighth minute for a reckless challenge on Chris Wood, which forced the striker off injured.
Forest quickly capitalised on the numerical advantage. Morgan Gibbs-White scored in the 12th minute when his shot from the edge of the penalty area took a heavy deflection and looped into the net.
Gibbs-White dedicated the goal to teammate Elliot Anderson, who missed the match following the death of his mother. The midfielder held up a shirt bearing Anderson’s name in tribute.
Forest were playing in Europe for the first time since the 1995-96 UEFA Cup and are now into their first continental semi-final since the 1983-84 season.
They survived a tense second half as Porto came close to equalising. William Gomes struck the woodwork from close range, while Alan Varela also hit the crossbar late in the game.
Elsewhere in the competition, Freiburg reached their first European semi-final after defeating Celta Vigo 3-1 away from home. The German side progressed 6-1 on aggregate thanks to goals from Igor Matanovic and a brace from Yuito Suzuki.
Freiburg will face Sporting Braga in the semi-finals after the Portuguese club completed a dramatic comeback to beat Real Betis 4-2 away and win 5-3 on aggregate.
The Europa League semi-final stage now promises high drama, highlighted by a historic all-English clash between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
