First-leg action in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League produced four tight results, leaving all ties delicately poised ahead of next week’s return matches.
Nottingham Forest secured a 1-0 win over Aston Villa after Chris Wood converted a 71st-minute penalty. The spot-kick was awarded for handball against Lucas Digne following a VAR review. It marked Wood’s 200th career goal after a campaign disrupted by injury.
Forest were denied earlier when Emiliano Martínez produced a brilliant save to claw Igor Jesus’ effort off the line. Villa now need to overturn the deficit at Villa Park as manager Unai Emery continues his pursuit of a fifth Europa League title.
In the Conference League, Crystal Palace claimed a commanding 3-1 away win against Shakhtar Donetsk in Krakow. Ismaïla Sarr opened the scoring after just 21 seconds, the fastest goal in the competition’s history.
Oleh Ocheretko equalised shortly after the restart, but Daichi Kamada restored Palace’s lead before substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen struck late to strengthen the Premier League side’s position before the return leg at Selhurst Park.
In Portugal, Braga earned a 2-1 win over SC Freiburg thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Mario Dorgeles. Demir Ege Tiknaz had opened the scoring before Vincenzo Grifo equalised. Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu later saved a Rodrigo Zalazar penalty before Dorgeles settled the match in the closing moments.
Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano defeated RC Strasbourg 1-0 in Spain. Alemao scored the only goal early in the second half to give the La Liga side a slender advantage ahead of the second leg in France.
All four ties in the Europa League and Conference League will be decided on May 7, 2026.
