The striker's 71st-minute penalty - after Lucas Digne's absurd handball - allows Vitor Pereira's side to take a slender advantage to Villa Park for next week's second leg. It was the 200th career goal for a player who has had a tough season, spending six months out with a knee injury. Emi Martinez's brilliant reaction save - clawing the ball off the line to deny IgorJesus after 33 minutes - prevented Forest from scoring earlier. Villa beat Forest 3-1 at Villa Park in the Premier League in January but must overcome a deficit as Unai Emery searches for a fifth Europa League title. Stefan Ortega saved from Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers before the break and he also kept put Ollie Watkins' instinctive effort in the second half. Forest then edged ahead when Wood smashed in a penalty after Digne's rush of blood. The left-back inexplicably put his arms up as Omari Hutchinson tried to hook a deep ball back into the box just as it looked like it was dropping out, with VAR ruling it had not gone completely over the line and out of play - and therefore was still live.

The Senegal forward struck after just 21 seconds in Poland, getting in behind Shakhtar's defence to collect Jean-Philippe Mateta's pass before slotting into the far corner. Shakhtar dominated possession after that but lacked the cutting edge as they chased an equaliser. Instead, Palace came closest to scoring again before half-time when a flowing move ended with Daniel Munoz's dangerous ball into the box being gathered by keeper Dmytro Riznyk just ahead of Sarr. The Ukrainian side, who hosted the tie in Krakow due to the conflict in their country, started the second half much like Palace did the first. And they grabbed an equaliser within two minutes of the restart as Oleh Ocheretko prodded in from close range after Kaua Elias headed on a corner. That seemed to lift Arda Turan's side and for a period they dominated possession, but it was Palace who threatened as Riznyk made two brilliant saves to deny first Sarr and then Mateta, who also struck the post with a hooked finish following a Chris Richards throw-in. But Palace were not to be denied in the 58th minute when another Richards throw caused problems and fell for Daichi Kamada to sweep home his first goal for the club since October 2024 at Aston Villa in the League Cup. With six minutes left, Kamada played a fine ball through for substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen, whose clever touch took him away from a defender before he calmly fired in a crucial third goal. With the return at Selhurst Park on Thursday, 7 May, the impressive display gave Palace one foot in a first major European final.

In a cagey affair at Estadio de Vallecas a looping header from Brazilian forward Alemao nine minutes into the second half was enough to hand the La Liga side a slender lead for next week's return leg in France. In a first half lacking quality, neither side registered a shot on target as Strasbourg dominated possession. But Rayo Vallecano - appearing at this stage of a European competition for the first time - came quick out of the blocks at the start of the second half and were soon rewarded for their efforts. The La Liga side broke the deadlock in the 54th minute when Alemao met Isi Palazon's corner at the near post to score his third European goal of the season. From there the hosts took control, with Strasbourg - managed by Englishman Gary O'Neil - unable to regain their early momentum. Former Newcastle United defender Florian Lejeune thought he had doubled the lead less than 10 minutes later, only for goalkeeper Mike Penders to claw his header off the line. Palazon and Unai Lopez also tried their luck from distance in the closing stages as Rayo Vallecano pushed for a second goal. The second leg will take place at Stade de la Meinau next Thursday, with the winner facing either Crystal Palace or Shakhtar Donetsk in next month's final in Germany.