Aston Villa (4) 4-0 (1) Nottingham Forest: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Villans book place in Europa League final

Aston Villa ran riot at Villa Park on Thursday night, beating Nottingham Forest 4-0 to claim a 4-1 aggregate victory and book their place in the Europa League final.

Aston Villa produced an electric, dominant first-half performance, pinning Nottingham Forest inside their half for large durations, and the Villans were rewarded for their pressure when Ollie Watkins scored the opener 10 minutes before the break, levelling the tie on aggregate.

Unai Emery's side turned up the heat even further in the second half, with Emiliano Buendia scoring the second just before the hour mark, followed by a brace inside three minutes from John McGinn, sealing a 4-0 second-leg win and booking their place in the Europa League final.

Aston Villa's first European final in 44 years will see them face Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

If there was any manager in Europa League history you would want in charge to overturn a deficit in a semi-final second-leg, it would undoubtedly be Emery - and he proved exactly why tonight.

No manager has won this competition more than the Spaniard, having been crowned champion four times, and Emery is now one step away from claiming a fifth title with Aston Villa.

The Villans, buoyed by the thunderous atmosphere inside Villa Park, outclassed and outworked their opponents tonight, pinning Nottingham Forest back and not allowing them to counter throughout the clash.

While credit must go to Emery, who got his tactical decisions spot on, Nottingham Forest were miles off the pace, barely laying a glove on the Villans across the entire duration of the game.

Ultimately, Aston Villa were undeniably the deserved winners of the semi-final, and they will now begin preparations for the Europa League final in Istanbul at the end of the month, in which they will face Freiburg.

ASTON VILLA VS. NOTTINGHAM FOREST HIGHLIGHTS

Ollie Watkins goal vs. Nottingham Forest (36th min, Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest)

Ollie Watkins fires Aston Villa into the lead ?

What a run that was from Buendia ?

? TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/bPKsvSmqth
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

Aston Villa draw level in the tie!

Emiliano Buendia picks the ball up and drives into the box, stunningly skipping between two defenders and getting to the byline.

Buendia delays the delivery and then fires into the six-yard box, where Watkins meets the cross and finishes into the roof of the net.

Emiliano Buendia goal vs. Nottingham Forest (58th min, Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest)

He made the first and now he's scored the second ?

Emi Buendia gives Aston Villa the lead from the spot ?

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

Buendia puts Aston Villa ahead on aggregate!

The referee is sent to the screen and eventually awards Aston Villa a penalty for a foul by Nikola Milenkovic, with Buendia given the responsibility from the spot.

Buendia slowly runs up and calmly slots into the bottom right corner, giving Stefan Ortega no chance.

John McGinn goal vs. Nottingham Forest (77th min, Aston Villa 3-0 Nottingham Forest)

John McGinn gets Aston Villa's third ?

The captain surely puts the nail in the coffin ?

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

McGinn surely sends Aston Villa to the final in Istanbul!

Pau Torres smashes a long ball forward to Morgan Rogers, who knocks the ball down to Watkins and then out to McGinn in acres of space on the right flank.

McGinn arcs his run to set up the strike on his left foot and then bends a low effort past Ortega into the bottom right corner.

John McGinn goal vs. Nottingham Forest (80th min, Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest)

INCREDIBLE ?

John McGinn scores an almost identical goal minutes after his last and Aston Villa have four ?

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

Two goals in a matter of minutes from McGinn!

Rogers picks up the ball, turns and starts driving towards the Nottingham Forest penalty area.

Rogers slides the ball across to McGinn in a similar position to his first goal, and this time the captain expertly slots into the near corner.

MAN OF THE MATCH - EMILIANO BUENDIA

European nights like these demand big performances from big players, and Buendia delivered exactly that for Aston Villa tonight.

The Argentinian skilfully created the first goal, weaving between two defenders and picking out Watkins, before demonstrating great composure to put the Villans ahead on aggregate from the penalty spot.

Buendia not only delivered a goal and assist, but also created the most chances (four) and had the most touches in the opposition box (nine), while also completing two dribbles and winning eight duels - a real all-action performance.

While Buendia was the pick of the bunch, all of Aston Villa's attackers delivered tonight, with Nottingham Forest unable to live with the quality on show from Buendia, Watkins, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn.

ASTON VILLA VS. NOTTINGHAM FOREST MATCH STATS

Possession: Aston Villa 51%-49% Nottingham Forest

Shots: Aston Villa 18-7 Nottingham Forest

Shots on target: Aston Villa 10-2 Nottingham Forest

Corners: Aston Villa 6-3 Nottingham Forest

Fouls: Aston Villa 13-12 Nottingham Forest

BEST STATS

1+1 - Emiliano Buendía is the first player to both score and assist in a UEFA Europa League semi-final match for an English club since both Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani for Manchester United v Roma in April 2021. Moment. pic.twitter.com/hBw7oReO9S
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 7, 2026

WHAT NEXT?

Aston Villa came from 1-0 down to win 4-1 on aggregate thanks to tonight's victory, meaning they have set up a clash against Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul later this month.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest will have to quickly put the disappointment of elimination behind them