00:00Two former champions of Europe go head-to-head by the Trent at the end of a gloriously sunny day
00:05as Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa meet in the first all-English European semi-final.
00:10So Nikola Milenkovic is paired with Murato at the back.
00:14Niklas Dominguez starts in midfield with Ibrahim Sangari injured.
00:17Both legs of the quarter-final win over Bologna.
00:20Amadou Anana returns in central midfield after missing Saturday's defeat at Fulham with a knee injury.
00:25It's Aston Villa who will get us underway.
00:28And the UEFA Europa League semi-final.
00:31First leg, this all-English affair between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
00:36I think he's grown in confidence.
00:39He's starting to believe that he's a first-choice regular.
00:42Good challenge by Anana to get the ball back off Jesus.
00:46Here now is Rodgers who was stretching to try to control the ball.
00:51Villa again winning it back.
00:52Referee doing everything he can to allow the game to flow.
00:55So, Tielemans might have a crack from here.
01:00Possession of the ball in the opening minutes and the position on the field in which they've got possession of
01:05the ball.
01:05I think it's been an excellent start from Aston Villa.
01:09They've been really good.
01:10I mean, it's a save you'd expect Ortega to make from Tielemans, but he's more than useful from distance, isn't
01:15he?
01:16Hits the target, asks the question of the goalkeeper.
01:18But they've done a good job of getting there ahead of Buendia.
01:25It's fallen kindly now for Oli Watkins for Villa.
01:28Buendia's there in support.
01:30And Morgan Rodgers as well.
01:32And Rodgers fires in the shot and Ortega's there.
01:35Collected by Buendia.
01:37Excellent interception by Ola Aina.
01:39Dinia not putting enough on it.
01:42Little flurry there from Aston Villa.
01:44The other end.
01:45Morgan Rodgers.
01:46A curling effort.
01:47It's finding its way, I think, into the corner.
01:50Flores get the ball.
01:53They're recycling it quickly.
01:56Free kick for the foul by Morgan Rodgers.
01:59Cash trying to hold up Williams.
02:02Here comes Anderson.
02:04And now Morgan, Gibbs-White.
02:06Alarm bells ringing for Villa.
02:08What a save there by Martinez.
02:10Flores thought they'd scored.
02:12Martinez decided otherwise.
02:14Brilliant play again.
02:15What a ball that is from Elliot Anderson over the top to Gibbs-White.
02:18But initially you think he'd go for a goal.
02:21But he pulls it back to Jesus.
02:23And it passed the goalkeeper.
02:24Somehow he sticks out a left hand and keeps it out.
02:29Brilliant.
02:30Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at this stage.
02:32Sums the first half up pretty well.
02:35No added time either.
02:36And Igor Jesus there will still be feeling a little bit nonplussed
02:40as to how he didn't put Nottingham Forest ahead.
02:42His effort looked goal-bound.
02:44Great to see John McGovern in the crowd tonight.
02:49And away we go on the whistle of João Pinheiro,
02:52the referee from Portugal.
02:55Outside the penalty area.
02:58Walken Gibbs-White.
02:59Big chase for Chris Wood.
03:01Very much second favourite there.
03:03And Martinez kept it interesting.
03:05He's always pretty calm, isn't he?
03:07And Martinez is so good on.
03:09With the ball at feet.
03:16Let's get the feeling the margins could be tight in this semi-final between these two.
03:21Here's McGinn.
03:23And now Rodgers.
03:26And Watkins brings the save from Ortega.
03:28And Dina it is deflected behind.
03:31Well, great save from Martinez in the first half.
03:34Right time there.
03:35He was looking for an offside play, wasn't he?
03:37Stefan Ortega.
03:38He thought that Ollie Watkins had veered the wrong side.
03:41But no way.
03:42He's onside.
03:44Bit of luck because he's going for goal,
03:46Morgan Rodgers,
03:46but it deflects nicely into the path of Watkins.
03:49And he just scoops it away.
03:51Ortega.
03:54Big chance for Villa.
03:59Here comes Igor Jesus now for Forrest.
04:04Gibbs-White.
04:07Just beyond Chris Wood.
04:10Hutchinson there on the far side.
04:12Are they...
04:14Are they claiming a handball?
04:16Behind the goal.
04:16Ball was already out, I think.
04:17Yeah.
04:19I don't think Hutchinson kept it in.
04:22And get a better view.
04:23And the referee is going to go and have a look.
04:28So this could be positive news,
04:31potentially, for Nottingham Forrest here.
04:34That will be.
04:35It'll be a penalty.
04:36And it can only be by millimetres.
04:38The vast majority of the ball is beyond the line,
04:41the goal line.
04:42The post clearly obscuring it.
04:44But there...
04:46It's handball.
04:48Yeah, hand way, way above his head.
04:52Golden opportunity now for Nottingham Forrest to take the lead in this semi-final.
04:58And it couldn't have been by more than a couple of centimetres that the ball,
05:02a little bit of the ball was still in play.
05:04But it was clearly a handball.
05:07And the only question was whether the ball had gone beyond the line.
05:10Yeah, exactly that.
05:11His hands are way, way above his head here.
05:13Yeah.
05:14And it hits them flush.
05:19So, it was just whether the ball was over the line or not.
05:22And clearly, the decision was that it hadn't crossed the line.
05:33Well, of course, Emi Martinez has fared pretty well on the biggest occasion of all in penalty kicks in the
05:38World Cup final.
05:39But Chris Wood with the chance now to give Nottingham Forrest the lead in this Europa League semi-final.
05:49Well, 20 minutes to go.
05:55Big moment in the tie.
05:571-0 Nottingham Forrest.
06:04Confidently dispatched by Chris Wood.
06:09Who lifts the roof off the city ground.
06:14Confident and perfectly placed.
06:17No chance for Emi Martinez.
06:21Luka Dina penalised.
06:23Nottingham Forrest 1.
06:24Aston Villa 0.
06:26What a strike.
06:27An emphatic penalty by Chris Wood.
06:31The first leg eventually has lift off.
06:35He's taken a while to get going.
06:37And it's taken a big mistake from Luka Dina.
06:43Thinking that the ball had gone over the line.
06:45It hadn't.
06:47And Chris Wood finds the top corner.
06:51Emi Martinez at full stretch.
06:53Can't get it.
06:53Nico Williams is up alongside him here.
06:57And from a promising attacking position, Villa suddenly forced all the way down to the other end of the field.
07:03But Conce has got it away.
07:04And Tielemans goes long.
07:06He's looking for Watkins.
07:08It was the equivalent of the Hail Mary pass there to pick out Oli Watkins.
07:11And Conce waits for support to arrive.
07:14Jadon Sancho's got it.
07:15Can't find a way through.
07:17Watkins forced wider than he might have liked.
07:21Plenty back now for Forrest.
07:23Sancho tries to create an opportunity.
07:26And it's safely into the gloves of Ortega.
07:29And that might be it from Villa tonight.
07:31Just felt like they overcomplicated it.
07:33Too many touches.
07:34Too many passes.
07:36One pass too many.
07:38Could have got his shot away earlier, Sancho.
07:43Still all to play for in this tie though.
07:46Just a one-goal game.
07:49Forrest in the box seat.
07:50Villa with the free kick.
07:54And maybe one final attempt to get the ball forward.
07:57They might need to hurry up about it though.
08:00No time to get the ball forward.
08:03In a match of fine margins.
08:05It is a penalty kick that separates the two sides at the halfway mark of this semi-final.
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