UEL: Villa’s magical comeback for second place, Nottingham's Pyrrhic victory

It was a fine evening for both English representatives in the Europa League, but the final standings were not equally kind to everyone. Aston Villa’s players produced a superb comeback to secure a victory that lifted them into second place, while Nottingham Forest — despite dancing on home soil and putting four past their visitors — will still have to wait for their opponent in the draw.

In Birmingham, Aston Villa started the match at a furious pace, testing Salzburg goalkeeper Alexander Schlager three times inside the opening two minutes. Ollie Watkins fired a right-footed effort from distance, Harvey Elliott followed up from close range, and Tyrone Mings then rose highest to head goalwards from a Lucas Digne cross — but Schlager stood firm, saving all three attempts straight down the middle of the goal.

Salzburg gradually settled and began to show their threat on the counter. In the ninth minute, Sota Kitano received a precise pass on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot, though Emiliano Martinez was well positioned to make the save.

The Austrian side came closer again in the 20th minute when Soumaila Diabate pounced on a loose ball and struck from medium range, forcing Martinez into a superb save low to his right, with the ball deflected out for a corner.

The breakthrough arrived in the 33rd minute — and it came in dramatic fashion. A costly mistake from Tyrone Mings gifted Salzburg possession, allowing them to break quickly. The ball was squared to Karim Konate, who calmly swept it home. Aston Villa’s defending was poor all around, and Victor Lindelof will feel he could have done better to prevent the goal.

Salzburg nearly doubled their lead before the break as Mads Bidstrup went on a solo run and fired in a shot from the edge of the box in the 36th minute, but Martinez produced another excellent save to keep Villa within touching distance at halftime.

Guests struck early after the restart to tighten their grip on the match. In the 49th minute, Kerim Alajbegovic produced a moment of real quality inside the box, neatly evading two Aston Villa challenges before squaring the ball to Moussa Yeo, who finished with a sublime flick to restore the visitors’ two-goal cushion.

Villa looked rattled but gradually worked their way back into the contest. Emiliano Buendia found space on the edge of the penalty area in the 56th minute and let fly, only to blaze his effort high over the bar. Salzburg then wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead on the hour mark when Sota Kitano met a cross inside the box but dragged his shot wide of the left post.

Those missed chances proved costly. In the 64th minute, Villa pulled a goal back through a flowing move in the final third. Morgan Rogers exchanged a neat one-two with Buendía before driving a composed finish in off the near post, reigniting the home crowd and shifting the momentum.

The pressure continued to build. Harvey Elliott came agonisingly close to equalising in the 73rd minute when a cleared corner dropped to him just inside the area, but his right-footed strike flew over the crossbar.

Aston Villa finally completed the comeback in the 76th minute. Matty Cash delivered a perfectly weighted, swinging cross and Tyrone Mings rose above everyone to power a header beyond Alexander Schlager. It was a moment of redemption for the defender, making amends for his costly error earlier in the match and dragging Villa level in dramatic fashion.

Nottingham - Ferencvaros 4-0 (2-0)

Nottingham Forest wasted little time asserting themselves, but the first real scare came at the other end. In the sixth minute, Kristoffer Zachariassen rose highest at the near post and glanced a header against the left post from close range after a Jonathan Levi cross following a corner.

Forest responded quickly. Ryan Yates went close in the 11th minute when he found space inside the box and pulled the trigger, only for a Ferencvaros defender to deny him with a perfectly timed sliding block. Moments later, Dan Ndoye finally showed flashes of his quality, bursting past two defenders into the penalty area, but his angled finish was blocked away by Adam Grof after some excellent individual play.

The breakthrough came in the 17th minute — and it was chaotic. Yates charged into a midfield duel and play was allowed to continue despite Ferencvaros appeals. His low cross appeared harmless, but Botond Otvos, under no pressure, somehow diverted the ball into his own net, gifting Forest the opener.

The home side were suddenly in complete control and doubled their lead just four minutes later. Once again Yates was at the heart of it, winning another physical duel in midfield before the ball was carried forward. Gabriel Jesus drove towards the edge of the box and calmly guided a low finish into the corner, as Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros side collapsed under sustained pressure.

Forest were rampant. James McAtee tested Grof from 18 yards in the 23rd minute, the goalkeeper flapping the effort clear unconvincingly. The visitors continued to look nervous, almost adding to their misery in the 29th minute when Grof completely missed a corner and Endre Makreckis’ attempted clearance looped dangerously towards his own goal, drifting inches wide.

Ferencvaros did manage a late response before the break. Deep into stoppage time, Zachariassen tried to turn a hopeful cross into a goal, meeting the ball with a powerful header from around 11 metres, but Matz Sels produced an excellent save to tip it away. The Hungarian side earned a corner and rushed men forward, but Forest went into halftime firmly in control.

Nottingham Forest picked up exactly where they left off after the break, immediately putting Ferencvaros under heavy pressure. Just two minutes into the second half, Ryan Yates burst into the penalty area and forced a save from Adam Grof, who could only palm the ball away. Forest kept the move alive, but Igor Jesus could not direct his header on target.

The woodwork then came to the visitors’ rescue in the 54th minute. James McAtee clipped a delightful ball into the box and Nicolas Dominguez got there ahead of Grof, only to see his flicked header strike the post and stay out, with the Ferencvaros goalkeeper once again looking uncertain.

Forest’s dominance was finally rewarded three minutes later. Igor Jesus grabbed his second of the night after some limp defending from Endre Makreckis, who was brushed aside too easily. The Brazilian raced through on goal and finished clinically, underlining how comfortable Forest had become against a Ferencvaros side struggling to cope.

The Hungarian champions did have their moments, and came desperately close to pulling one back in the 61st minute. A cross from the left found Adama Traore unmarked eight yards out, but his powerful header crashed against the crossbar, adding to a night in which the woodwork was kept busy.

The contest was put beyond doubt late on. In the 89th minute, Forest were awarded a penalty after another costly Ferencvaros error, with Makreckis clearly pulling Morato’s shirt inside the box. Morgan Gibbs-White handed the responsibility to McAtee, who calmly converted to open his Forest account and cap off a dominant display. It rounded off a superb evening for Sean Dyche and his side.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 8

Thursday

Aston Villa - Salzburg 3-2 (0-1)

/Rogers 64, Mings 76, Jimoh 87 - Konate 33, Yeo 49/

Basel - Plzen 0-1 (0-1)

/Panos 39/

Betis - Feyenoord 2-1 (2-0)

/Antony 17, Ezzalzouli 32 - Tengstedt 77/

Celtic - Utrecht 4-2 (3-1)

/Nygren 6, Viergever 10 og, Engels 19 pen, Trusty 66 - De Wit 44, Blake 62/

Crvena Zvezda - Celta 1-1 (0-0)

/Duarte 89 - Lopez 87/

FCSB - Fenerbahce 1-1 (0-1)

/Cisotti 71 - Yuksek 18/

Genk - Malmo 2-1 (1-1)

/Heymans 45 pen, Karetsas 82 - Ali 4/

Go Ahead - Braga 0-0

Lille - Freiburg 1-0 (0-0)

/Giroud 90+2 pen/

Ludogorets - Nice 1-0 (1-0)

/Stanic 42/

Maccabi T.A. - Bologna 0-3 (0-1)

/Rowe 35, Orsolini 47, Pobega 90+4/

Midtjylland - Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 (0-0)

/Simsir 49, Jensen 74/

Nott. Forest - Ferencvaros 4-0 (2-0)

/Otvos 17 og, Jesus 21, 55, McAtee 90 pen/

Olympique Lyon - PAOK 4-2 (1-1)

/Himbert 33, Merah 55, Karabec 88, Rodriguez 90+3 - Giakoumakis 20, Meite 66/

Panathinaikos - Roma 1-1 (0-0)

/Taborda 58 - Ziolkowski 80/

Porto - Rangers 3-1 (3-1)

/Mora 27, Moura 36, Fernandez 41 og - Gassama 6/

Sturm - Brann 1-0 (0-0)

/Kiteishvili 85/

Stuttgart - Young Boys 3-2 (2-1)

/Undav 6, Demirovic 7, Andres 90 - Gigovic 42, Lauper 57/