Credit: Tung Manh Phan

James Barker

Fri 1 May 2026 8:10, UK

Unai Emery should be very happy with how his Aston Villa side improved in the second half against Nottingham Forest.

Thursday night’s Europa League semi-final first leg didn’t go to plan for Aston Villa.

Indeed, the Villans were defeated 1-0 thanks to a Chris Wood penalty with a little under 20 minutes to play in the match, after Lucas Digne’s handball gave referee Joao Pinheiro and the VAR team no option but to award the spot kick.

Forest were also lucky to escape the first leg with 11 men on the pitch, as Elliot Anderson wasn’t shown a card of any kind for his heavy challenge on Ollie Watkins in the first half.

As such, Villa’s loss to Forest was a frustrating one, especially given that Emery’s side were growing into the game after half-time.

Aston Villa’s first & second-half stats vs Nottingham Forest

Emery isn’t happy with referee Pinheiro in regards to that aforementioned incident involving Watkins and Anderson, and he’s got every right to be.

A sending off for Forest’s midfield maestro half an hour into the game may well have changed the trajectory of not only the first-leg tie, but also the return leg at Villa Park next Thursday.

However, Villa can be angry for a few hours and then they must put it out of their minds, as they now prepare for another big game on Sunday against Tottenham before the second leg on 7 May.

The first half at the City Ground was a cagey affair, with both sides sussing one another’s gameplans out, and that ensured Villa got off to a fairly slow opening 45 minutes.

As per FotMob, Villa had just four shots in the first half on Thursday night, with an expected goals (xG) of 0.23, five touches in the opposition box as well as posting a 39 per cent ground duel win rate.

Villa also recorded just 43 per cent possession, created zero big chances, played 47 passes in the opposition half and registered just two shots inside the Forest box.

Meanwhile, Villa’s second half performances saw them enjoy 57 per cent possession, whilst also taking 18 touches in the Forest box, winning 48 per cent of their ground duels and an xG of 0.56.

Emery’s side also created one big chance, played 104 passes in the opposition half and attempted five shots inside the Forest box respectively.

Europa League final ticket still there for Aston Villa

So, yes the 1-0 first leg defeat was disappointing, but take that moment of madness from Digne out of it for the penalty, and the tie would very much be in Villa’s hands.

The second half performance saw a vast improvement from the Villans, and if they start the second leg how they finished the first, keep those boarding passes for Istanbul handy.

Deep down, Forest will know that luck was on their side on Thursday, as Digne’s handball was inexplicable, and Anderson really should’ve been sent off in the first half.

However, Vitor Pereira’s side did defend well and made it tough for Aston Villa, so credit to them in that respect, but this tie is nowhere near being over.