Chris Wood's penalty was enough to earn Nottingham Forest a first-leg advantage in their Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa, leaving Unai Emery's side with work to do to avoid a third consecutive season of semi-final heartache.
The former Albion striker blasted home from the spot in the 71st minute after Lucas Digne was guilty of a handball, as the home side edged a nervy yet engrossing encounter at the City Ground.
Martinez Heroics Not Enough
Emi Martinez, at the same stadium where he produced the save that won Premier League Save of the Season a year ago, made an equally miraculous stop to deny Igor Jesus in the first half. However, Wood gave him no chance with the penalty, and Forest will take the advantage into next week's second leg at Villa Park.
The tie is far from over, but Villa will need to find their shooting boots to progress. Their best chance fell to Ollie Watkins, who from six yards out could only steer a volley straight at Stefan Ortega. The Forest goalkeeper also denied Morgan Rogers with a diving save in the first half.
VAR Controversy
Villa felt frustrated after the match. Other than the penalty, Forest created few chances in the second half. Things might have been different had Forest midfielder Elliott Anderson been shown a red card in the first half for a sliding challenge on Watkins's ankle. Emery was left raging at the decision by VAR not to intervene.
Villa saw their nine-match winning run in European football come to an end, but they should have plenty of motivation for the second leg.
Match Summary
This was Villa's second European semi-final in three seasons, but Forest's first since 1984, and the atmosphere at kick-off was predictably loud. Amadou Onana recovered from a knee injury to start and made his presence felt early, snapping into a challenge that saw the ball fall to Youri Tielemans, whose shot from distance was pushed wide by Ortega.
Forest gradually came into the game. Lucas Digne did well to block a cross from Omari Hutchinson, while one that got behind the defence was headed wide by Morgan Gibbs-White. The match was frenetic, with Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro allowing the game to flow. Anderson's sliding challenge on Watkins went unpunished and was not reviewed by VAR.
Villa had space in attack. A misplaced pass set Watkins running, and when the ball was worked to Rogers, Ortega needed to be at full stretch to prevent his curling shot from finding the bottom corner. It was an impressive stop, but nothing compared to Martinez's save at the other end.
Anderson chipped a pass to Gibbs-White, who sent it back across goal. Jesus had almost started to celebrate as the ball passed Martinez, but the keeper somehow got his left hand to take the speed out of the shot before clawing the ball away from the line with his other hand. Forest supporters who witnessed his heroics the previous season were left rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
Villa lost Onana in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with the midfielder limping off to be replaced by Lamare Bogarde. The visitors then went close to taking the lead when Rogers lifted a cross toward Watkins, but his volley from six yards was straight at Ortega.
It felt like a big moment, even more so when Forest took the lead with a goal that came from nowhere. Hutchinson showed great commitment to reach a ball heading out of play, and his scoop back hit Digne's raised arm. Villa's concern was initially allayed by a raised assistant's flag, but replays suggested the ball may not have crossed the line. After a VAR check, referee Pinheiro pointed to the spot.
Wood gave Martinez no chance to be the hero again, blasting the penalty into the top corner. Villa pushed for an equalizer but could not find one, with Tielemans blasting over from the edge of the box.
Lineups
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Aina (Abbott 75), Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Hutchinson, Dominguez; Anderson, Gibbs-White, Jesus (Yates 90); Wood. Subs not used: Lucca, McAtee, Bakwa, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks, Blake, Sels (gk), Willows (gk).
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne (Maatsen 79); Tielemans, Onana (Bogarde 54); McGinn (Luiz 79), Rogers, Buendia (Sancho 79); Watkins. Subs not used: Lindelof, Mings, Garcia, Bailey, Elliott, Abraham, Bizot (gk), Wright (gk).
