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75 min Abbott, by the way, is only 19. If Aina’s properly hurt, he’ll have some serious work to do over the next week or so.
74 min Aina is down in his own box, limping a bit, and he’s replaced by Zach Abbott.
73 min It’s a massive goal, that – if Forest take a lead into the second leg, they’ll be primed to defend the box and strike on the break, while Villa lack a bit of guile.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa (Wood pen 71)
A perfect penalty, rammed high into the top left. If you can do that, I don’t get why you do’t do it every time – that’s how good it was. Martinez goes the right way and gets close, but ye cannae save those, Darren.
PENALTY TO FOREST!
I’m not sure if Digne was appealing for a goalkick or using a raised arm to steady himself, but once they established the ball was still in, it was open and shut. Chris Wood will take the responsibility; goodness me the pressure…
68 min But was it out? We see a replay that suggests not, and I think this is going to be a penalty!
67 min Gibbs-White crosses to the back post and Hutchinson does well to pursue, lunging after a lost cause and diverting the ball from the by-line … into Digne’s raised arm! PENA… no, it was already out for a goalkick, says the ref.
67 min Tielemans punches a pass through the lines that Buendia doesn’t quite read. Had he been on his toes, he might’ve collected, delivering it into stride at the same time and, on the touchline, Emery is less than gruntled.
66 min Konsa feeds a decent pass between centre-back and full-back for Cash, who nashes on to it and crosses low, but Milenkovic reaches the ball before Watkins to hump clear.
65 min Williams goes short to Anderson, improving the angle for him, but the ensuing cross is too close to Martinez, who claims confidently, ahead of Wood.
64 min But, as I type, Forest win a corner down the left…
63 min Forest are struggling to get their attacking play going this half, and I wonder how much of that is due to the absence of Sangare and its knock-on effect on Anderson, who’s getting less quality ball and more defensive responsibility.
61 min Shakhtar had equalised against Palace, but Daichi Kamada has just put the visitors back in front. Taha Hashim has the latest:
59 min Suddenly the force is with Villa, Digne sliding in to win the ball off Aina, fairly but with studs up. The ref plays one, Digne is swiftly back involved to cross, and when his effort is kicked away, his team win a free-kick out wide, 25 yards from goal … which Forest get rid of easily enough.
57 min McGinn clips a pass into the box for Rogers, who looks to curl low towards the far corner but, in the middle, Watkins realises it’s not going in so chucks a leg at it, diverting the ball goalwards with his laces, when he might’ve swept with the direction; that allows Ortega to make an excellent reaction save from close range, foiling Vill’a best opportunity of the evening.
57 min It actually looks like Onana’s issue is with his calf, which is probably a good thing.
56 min “I’d like to echo Rebekah Voss’s sentiment and heap my praise on Johan Manzambi,” begins Daniel Halladay. “He’s an excellent young player with a maturity that belies his youth, and he has become a guaranteed starter for Freiburg this season. A fantastic all-around midfielder and I’ve resigned myself to the fact that his time in the south-west of Germany will soon be coming to an end.”
55 min Bogarde comes on for Onana, who diddled himself heading that cross out. His team needed it, but it seems unlikely he’ll be back in a week or so, unless it’s precautionary.
54 min Now that you ask dept: I enjoy Villa’s shorts. The trefoil, number and stripes combine nicely.
53 min Rogers heads the corner behind, and Onana seems to have twanged a hammy; he’ll shortly be replaced. Meantime, Hutchinson’s corner is headed clear by Digne, and Forest are in the ascendancy.
52 min Villa clear a cross and Hutchinson is still holding his shoulder. Meantime, his team have a free-kick and Anderson swings it in quickly, it looks headed for Wood on the back post … and out of nowhere, Onana intercedes, heading behind; that’s a great intervention.
50 min Hutchinson moves inside off the line, past Digne, who ushers him grasswards, and he looks in some pain, having landed on his shoulder. So the ref stops play and we’re shown a glorious full moon in the meantime, then it’s back under way.
49 min It’s Villa pushing the pace and they find Rogers on the by-line, but his cut-back is weak and easily cleared.
48 min Neither side has much in the way of gamechangers on their bench. I guess I’d be interested to see what James McAtee can do, and I think Villa will try Maatsen for Digne at some point, but otherwise, there aren’t many obvious options.
46 min “In the other match, Braga got a penalty in injury time,” says Kári Tulinius. “The spectators were treated to a rare event, a well-taken penalty that was saved. Rodrigo Salazar struck it low and hard, placing it right by the post, but keeper Noah Atubolu guessed the right way and got a strong hand to it. It felt refreshingly old-fashioned, no tricks or mind games. Of course, if there had been tricks or mind games, Braga might be 2-1 up.”
This is another for the collection:
46 min We go again…
“Collated thoughts,” returns Benjamin Gravestock. “Martinez isn’t any longer the best in the world, but he sometimes does a very good impression of it.
This is Villa’s strongest 11, injuries aside. None of the bench options change the game, for me.
Villa need some control a bit further up the pitch and it’s not coming from anywhere much at the moment. I’d maybe move Rogers right, and McGinn into the middle – Rogers comes central anyway, and McGinns arse is the hold-up-king we need.”
A fat arse is so helpful for a footballer – Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs had loads of them. Otherwise, I was surprised to see Buendia wide – I thought he’d be in behind, looking to slip balls down the sides of the centre-backs, with Rogers attacking the box from wide.
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
In Krakow, Palace lead Shakhtar 1-0 just before the break.
HALF-TIME: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Aston Villa
It’s been lively but lacking a little bit quality, as Arsene Wenger might say. Stick with it, though – it could explode at any moment.
45 min Anderson hangs on to the ball then knocks it backwards, so Watkins runs through him, perhaps vengefully, and does well to avoid a yellow card.
42 min Hutchinson has been Forest’s liveliest attacker and he sashays through the middle only for Cash to introduce him to grass. It looked a fair challenge but the ref awards a free-kick with goes to the back post and, when it’s nodded back, Aina touches adroitly to the edge, where Milenkovic waits, plotting the blockbusting finish that enshrines him in the annals of his club forever more. Then he wellies high and wide instead.
40 min There’s not been much in the way of goalmouth action, but this isn’t a boring 0-0. Both sides are looking to attack, the defending has just been good enough – so far. And, as I type, Watkins sways away from Milenkovic and towards the Villa box, only for Dominguez to lean him into the turf.
38 min Another Villa corner, another wasted Villa corner.
36 min “Forest are not sitting deep really, are they?” says Karen Asad. “They have a kinda verve that makes me fancy them more. They’ve got those speedy wingers, great dead-ball deliveries and a solid midfield. Gibbs-White is a joy to watch. So yeah they’ll be devastated when Emery moves past them with ease!”
I just don’t know which way this one is going to go. I can make a case for any eventuality, and think Villa have the better players but Forest the more obvious route to goal.
34 min That was a classic Martinez save really, untidy, apparently lucky, and extremely effective – he reminds me a bit of Iker Casillas in that regard. Things seem to hit him, but of course that’s just how it looks – in reality, it’s anticipation, positioning and reflexes.
33 min Anderson arrives on the edge, caressing a gorgeous pass over the top for Gibbs-White, on the left of the box. The eventuating cross is lovely too, not across the face but with his body contorted to cut it back for the ontrushing Jesus, who leaps, imparting a bit of foot and a bit of ankle, Martinez diving back the way he came to get a touch, before plunging on top of the ball.
32 min VAR wants a look … but nothing doing.
31 min Oooh! Anderson rolls studs over it before rolling it between Rogers’ legs – I hope he called it. Eeesh! Anderson slides in on Tielemans and misjudges his lunge, scrawping the top of the ball with his calf and introducing studs to ankle; he could be in trouble…
28 min Nice from Villa, sharp passes finding Rogers on the edge of the box, and he opens a shooting lane, lets go a low curler … and Ortega gets a strong hand to tip away, past the onrushing Watkins. So Forest, counter through midfield with Gibbs-White finding Hutchinson and following his pass, taking the return and dinking towards the back post seeking Wood … but the ball goes behind. It’s warming up!
27 min “I‘m honored to say that I saw Manzambi in action,” advises Rebekah Voss. “I caught Bayern versus Freiburg (a cracking game, that!) and the entire first half he was just toying with the Bayern defence. If it wasn’t for Neuer‘s heroics they would have been 2-0 down in the first half. And as soon as the second half started he did a lovely little dance around some defenders and shot a great strike into the goal. Even I, an avowed Bayern fan, had to give him his flowers. He’s fun to watch and I’m sure Freiburg are very fond of him.”
That’s great to hear. There are so, so many brilliant young players in the world.
25 min Again, Hutchinson is the outlet, a loverly ball, flicked with the instep into Wood, by Dominguez I think, goes right, and the cross wins a corner. Again, it comes to nowt, but Forest are building a bit of momentum.
24 min The corner comes to nowt, but Forest are starting to impose an attacking idea, getting the ball wide or into their forwards and then wide. So far, Villa are defending the box well.
23 min And after a ball into Jesus goes left when his shot is blocked, Gibbs-White teases in a cross for Wood … and Buendia charges back to head behind.
21 min More like it from Forest, Jesus pulling right and swirling over a nasty cross; it eludes wood, just, but is exactly the kind of ball they need to be delivering.
20 min Villa’s quality and midfield numbers are dictating this game without creating much. But, as I type, Cash slings over an inviting cross which kicks off the turf and gets big on Aina, who does well to control his header back to Ortega, who dives on it because he has to. I bet the defender swallowed some of his own gizzard in the time that took.
18 min In the other semi, it’s Braga 1-1 Freiburg. On which point, has anyone seen much of Johan Manzambi, the latter’s midfielder? I’e heard he can be very special.
16 min Another Villa corner, another poor delivery, and Forest clear.
16 min “Great point about Des Walker, says David Acaster. “The best defender in the world under Old Big ‘Ed but an absolute disaster internationally, and at Sampdoria and Wednesday.”
He was great for England at Italia 90, in fairness, but once he went to Sampdoria, the overwhelming memory is off him being burned up by Marc Overmars at Wembley – something that seemed impossible during his time at Forest. John Motson absolutely adored the “You’ll never beat Des Walker” tune.
14 min Forest enjoy their first bit of controlled possession, Villa sitting off in their 4-4-2. That makes sense as Forest are dangerous if there’s space in behind, but they can also cause problems if they feed their wide players with wood attacking the near post.
