Nottingham Forest player ratings as trio score 9/10 in 1-0 win over Aston Villa | OneFootball

Chris Wood’s second-half penalty secured a 1-0 first-leg lead for Nottingham Forest against Aston Villa in the Europa League at the City Ground.

According to Nottingham Post, head coach Vitor Pereira’s options were hit by injuries, with Callum Hudson-Odoi, Murillo, Jair Cunha, Ibrahim Sangare and Dan Ndoye unavailable.

Chances were scarce early on, and Stefan Ortega had to thwart Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers. Forest nearly struck on 33 minutes when Morgan Gibbs-White found Igor Jesus, but Emi Martinez produced a stunning double save.

After the interval Ortega reacted sharply to foil Ollie Watkins from close range. On 71 minutes VAR penalised Lucas Digne for handball from a Gibbs-White cross, Joao Pinheiro checked the monitor and awarded a penalty.

Wood rifled past Martinez to break the deadlock. Villa pressed late, yet Forest held on to take a slender advantage to Villa Park for next week’s decider with a place in next month’s Istanbul final at stake.

In the player ratings, Ortega, Elliot Anderson and Omari Hutchinson each earned 9/10. Ola Aina impressed before hobbling off, while Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood, now on 200 career goals, were given strong marks.

Source: Nottingham Post