April 16 (Reuters) – An early Morgan Gibbs-White goal earned Nottingham Forest a 1-0 win over 10-man Porto to secure a 2-1 aggregate victory and set up an all-English Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa, who thrashed Bologna 4-0 to progress 7-1 on aggregate.
Elsewhere, SC Freiburg eliminated Celta Vigo to set up a semi-final clash with Braga, after the Portuguese side knocked out Real Betis.
Porto’s Jan Bednarek was sent off after eight minutes for a reckless challenge on Forest striker Chris Wood as the clash at the City Ground got off to a volatile start.
Gibbs-White capitalised four minutes later, scoring with a deflected strike before holding up an Elliot Anderson shirt in tribute. The midfielder was a late withdrawal from the match following the death of his mother.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Porto remained competitive as William Gomes struck the woodwork, but Forest held on to progress.
Villa dominated Bologna at home, racing to a three-goal lead by halftime as Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendia, and Morgan Rogers all scored. Ezri Konsa added another late on to complete the rout.
SPANISH SIDES DUMPED OUT
In Seville, Braga staged a remarkable comeback from two goals down to defeat Betis 4-2 and secure a 5-3 aggregate victory.
The Portuguese side overturned early strikes from Betis’ Antony and Abde Ezzalzouli through Pau Victor, Vitor Carvalho, and a Ricardo Horta penalty, before Jean-Baptiste Gorby sealed Braga’s place in the semi-finals with a late goal.
They will face Freiburg, who reached their first-ever European semi-final earlier on Thursday, defeating Celta Vigo 3-1 in Spainto complete a 6-1 aggregate win.
Igor Matanovic opened the scoring and Yuito Suzuki added a double before Williot Swedberg struck a stoppage-time consolation for the hosts.
In the Conference League, Strasbourg eased past Mainz 4-2 on aggregate, setting up a semi-final against Rayo Vallecano, who edged AEK Athens 4-3 overall.
In the other bracket, Crystal Palace progressed 4-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 loss at Fiorentina to book a clash with Shakhtar Donetsk, who eliminated AZ Alkmaar 5-2 after a 2-2 draw earlier.
The Europa League final is scheduled for May 20 at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul. The Conference League final will be held on May 27 at the RB Stadium in Leipzig, Germany.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Christian Radnedge)
