Nottingham Forest suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to Midtjylland in the Europa League last-16 first leg on Thursday, while Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins ended his goal drought by scoring in a 1-0 win at Lille.Forest were hurt by Cho Gue-sung’s late header at the City Ground, giving the Danish side their second win over Forest this season.Earlier, Forest had lost 3-2 at home to Midtjylland in the group stage in October, during a season when Ange Postecoglou was one of four managers. The Premier League side must now secure an away win on March 19 to stay in the competition.Midtjylland have been strong in Europe, winning 12 of their last 14 matches.Forest went close in the first half, with Omari Hutchinson’s 30-yard shot tipped over by Elias Rafn Olafsson. Elliot Anderson also forced a fine save, and Philip Billing cleared a potential own goal from Pedro Bravo off the line.In heavy rain, Forest lost their footing in the 80th minute, allowing Ousmane Diao’s cross to find Cho, who calmly headed past Matz Sels to seal the win.“It is difficult to explain. We created so many chances to score. Even if we were to draw, it would not have been fair,” Pereira said. “They had two chances, and they scored. But we had enough time and the game was there. Even the rain played against us!”At the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Ollie Watkins scored his first goal in eight games across all competitions, giving Aston Villa a 1-0 lead and putting them on track for the quarter-finals.The England international’s second-half goal was only his ninth of a tough season, with just two goals in his last 13 matches. He scored in the 61st minute, meeting Emiliano Buendia’s flick-on with a looping header over Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer.Thanks to Watkins, Unai Emery’s team—who beat Lille in the 2024 UEFA Conference League quarter-finals—go into the second leg at Villa Park as favourites to advance.Villa have won eight of their nine Europa League games this season as they push to end a 30-year trophy drought.A Crucial EncounterAston Villa, managed by Unai Emery, had struggled recently, losing to bottom-placed Wolves and suffering a 4-1 defeat against Chelsea.However, the win over Lille was a big confidence boost ahead of a crucial match against Manchester United on Sunday in the fight for Champions League qualification.The victory also marked Emery’s 100th win as Aston Villa manager.“Ollie is working and being consistent with his task,” Emery said. “The most important thing is how we played a serious match. “We know how difficult it is with the atmosphere they have here.”Brazil striker Endrick salvaged a 1-1 draw for Lyon at 10-man Celta Vigo.Celta’s Javier Rueda swept in Williot Swedberg’s cross in the 25th minute.But the Spanish side had Borja Iglesias sent off for a second booking in the 54th minute.And Lyon escaped thanks to on-loan Real Madrid teenager Endrick, whose shot from the edge of the area in the 87th minute was fumbled over the line by Celta keeper Ionut Radu.Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini rescued a 1-1 draw in the all-Italian showdown at Bologna.Fifth-placed Roma, 12 points above eighth-placed Bologna in Serie A, fell behind when Federico Bernardeschi struck in the 50th minute with a clinical finish from Jonathan Rowe’s assist.Pellegrini came off the bench to haul Roma level in the 71st minute, tapping in from Donyell Malen’s pass.Portuguese league leaders Porto won 2-1 at Stuttgart and Genk beat Freiburg 1-0 in Belgium.Ferencvaros defeated Sporting Braga 2-0 in Budapest, while Panathinaikos earned a shock 1-0 home win against Real Betis.
