This Thursday (30) featured the first-leg matches of the UEFA Europa League semifinals.
Playing in front of their home crowd, Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa in the all-English clash.
Braga, meanwhile, were frustrating their fans at the Pedreira. But then came the winning goal in the 92nd minute.
The two return legs will be played next Thursday (7).
The final will be on May 20, with Beşiktaş Stadium as the venue.
🇵🇹 Braga 2 x 1 Freiburg 🇩🇪
Playing at the Pedreira, the Portuguese side went ahead as early as the eighth minute thanks to the alert Tiknaz.
But Braga then handed Freiburg a counterattack shortly afterward.
And the prolific Grifo did not waste it.
The Gverreiros had the chance to go into halftime in front.
But Atubolu reinforced his reputation as a penalty saver by saying “no” to Zalazar.
Braga had more of the play in the second half.
But they were not showing enough quality.
Then Mario Dorgeles struck in the 92nd minute to secure the win.
🏴 Nottingham Forest 1 x 0 Aston Villa 🏴
There was huge anticipation for the clash between the teams led by Vitor Pereira and Unai Emery, the “owner” of the UEL.
The first half saw Forest enjoy more possession, but the game was balanced in terms of control.
The best chance before the break fell to Forest.
Igor Jesus certainly tried, but Dibu Martínez made the difference.
The second half was not one of the best.
Then came Hutchinson’s attempt. He kept the ball from going out and won a penalty after Digne blocked its path with his hand.
It was up to Chris Wood to “ignore” Dibu Martínez (71′).
The goal “did Forest good,” and they did not ease up.
Unai Emery made three changes at once.
But Villa never made Ortega work.
The advantage belongs to Forest.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.