Chris Wood’s Penalty Leads Nottingham Forest to Victory Over Aston Villa in Europa League Semifinal

• Wood’s penalty was the difference as Forest beat Villa in the 1st leg

• Vítor Pereira’s team stretched its unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions

• In the other semi-final, Braga beat Freiburg 2-1 thanks to Mario Dorgeles’ winner

Chris Wood scored from the penalty spot to give Nottingham Forest a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the first leg of their all-English Europa League semifinal on Thursday. In a matchup of two teams hoping to revive former European glory, the win at the City Ground puts Forest a step closer to what would be its first continental competition final in 46 years.

Wood fired his 71st-minute penalty high into the net, giving goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez no chance to save after defender Lucas Digne was whistled for handball. “It’s nice to have the advantage but going to Villa Park will be a tough game,” the New Zealand striker told TNT Sports. “But we’ve done the job here at home and now hopefully we’ll build into next week.”

Vítor Pereira’s team stretched its unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions. Forest visits Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday before the semifinal second leg in Birmingham next Thursday. Forest is currently engaged in a relegation fight, standing five points above the Premier League drop zone. The winner of the Europa League title earns a spot in next season’s Champions League. This could create a situation where Forest gets relegated to England’s second division but also qualifies for Europe’s top club competition.

Forest has returned to Europe after 30 years to reach its fourth semifinal, but first since the 1984 UEFA Cup. This follows Forest’s dominance in the European Cup — the predecessor of the Champions League — where they won the trophy in 1979 and 1980. Aston Villa became the European champion two years later. Villa currently sits fifth in the Premier League and has a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League domestically. Villa coach Unai Emery has won the Europa League title four times — three with Sevilla and one with Villarreal.

Braga beats Freiburg

In the other semifinal, Braga defeated Freiburg 2-1 after substitute Mario Dorgeles scored the winner in second-half stoppage time in Portugal. At 1-1, Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu denied Braga a golden opportunity to restore a lead by diving to his right to save a spot kick from Rodrigo Zalazar. The Portuguese side hopes to advance to the final again after it lost to domestic rival Porto 1-0 in the 2011 title match. The second legs are scheduled for next Thursday, with the final in Istanbul set for May 20.

Sarr scores early for Crystal Palace

In the third-tier Conference League, Ismaïla Sarr scored in the opening minute as Crystal Palace beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 in the first leg of their semifinal. Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen also scored for Palace after Oleh Ocheretko had equalized for Shakhtar. The game took place in Krakow, Poland, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The second leg is next Thursday in London.

Rayo Vallecano secured a 1-0 victory over Strasbourg in Thursday’s other semifinal. The final is set for May 27 in Leipzig, Germany.