Benfica old boy targets final after Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa | OneFootball

On the night of last Thursday, April 30, Nottingham Forest took an important step towards the Europa League final after beating Aston Villa. Vítor Pereira’s side defeated the Birmingham team 1-0 in a match in which the former Porto coach relied on Morato, a defender who previously played for Benfica.

Usually used as a substitute in the English side, which has been fighting to stay alive in the Premier League, the former Benfica defender started against Aston Villa, in a match where Chris Wood left Forest dreaming of another European final.

Playing at home in front of their fans, the match was quite dull in the first half, with both teams creating a few chances but without really posing any danger to the opposition goal, which meant the score remained goalless when the referee blew for half-time.

In the second half, still with Morato on the pitch, the defender, who celebrated the win against Porto, was very important in preventing any danger from Unai Emery’s side. As the minutes passed, Vítor Pereira’s men managed to get the much-desired goal through a penalty converted by Chris Wood (71’).

After the final whistle, Forest now head into the second leg of the competition’s semi-final with a one-goal advantage, moving closer to reaching the final. The second match is scheduled for next Thursday, May 7. A place in the decisive clash is also being contested between Braga and Freiburg, with the Portuguese side holding the advantage (2-1).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.