Nottingham Forest hold a slender 1-0 advantage over Aston Villa going into the second leg of the Europa League semi-final.
A Chris Wood penalty 19 minutes from time gave Forest the advantage after the City Ground clash, with Lucas Digne’s handball giving the Reds a golden opportunity from the spot.
Give us your instant reaction to Forest’s first leg WIN over Aston Villa 👇
Forest should have been in front in the first half when Igor Jesus produced a remarkable save from Emi Martinez, who managed to save twice in one outrageous leap.
The Reds had a number of top performers on the night, and pundits James Perch and Steve Hodge were in no doubt who their Man of the Match was.
Elliot Anderson wows BBC Radio Nottingham pundits
Anderson continues to showcase his maturity and once again on Trentside, he was tremendous in leading Forest towards a very good win.
It’s nine unbeaten for Forest now in all competitions, with Vitor Pereira really starting to get a tune out of his players in recent weeks.
Anderson was the man in for praise from the Radio Nottingham panel after the 1-0 win.
Steve Hodge said: “I love the intensity tonight, and the number of times that Anderson retrieved the ball back was frightening. I thought he was magnificent, he was the best player on the park, a park full of really top players.”
James Perch agreed and added: “Anderson was brilliant, he set the tone with that tackle on Watkins…after that, he was nutmegging, he was hitting long balls…he was enjoying himself. The way he’s played shows the character of the lad.”
Who was your Man of the Match vs Aston Villa
Anderson is starting to really increase the tempo in his performances for the final furlongs over this mental season.
With just weeks of the 2025/26 campaign to play, Forest are still fighting it out in Europe and have a fighting chance of remaining in the Premier League.
The Reds need to stay focused and grounded, but things are shaping up for a really positive end of the season for Forest and for Anderson.
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