Football Tracker: Villa thrash Forest to make final, Palace into Conference League showpiece

[h2]Thursday's highlights:[/h2][p]• Aston Villa thrashed Nottingham Forest 4-0 with John McGinn scoring twice to see them qualify for the Europa League final[/p][p]• In the other Europa League semi-final second leg, Freiburg overcame their first-leg deficit to beat Braga and book their tickets to Istanbul[/p][p]• Finally, in the Conference League semi-final second legs, Crystal Palace beat Shakhtar 5-2 on aggregate to make the final in Leipzig, where they will face LaLiga side Rayo Vallecano[/p][h2]Europa League semi-finals:[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/aston-villa-W00wmLO0/nottingham-UsushcZr/?mid=SOEkFMVh"]Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest (4-1)[/a][/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/freiburg/fiEQZ7C7/"]Freiburg 3-1 Braga - (4-3)[/a][/b][/p][h2]Conference League semi-finals:[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/crystal-palace-AovF1Mia/shakhtar-donetsk-4ENWX2OA/?mid=AVlNTLpn"]Crystal Palace 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (5-2)[/a][/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/rayo-vallecano-8bcjFy6O/strasbourg-nP6UzIU1/?mid=UZVXduGO"]Strasbourg 0-1 Rayo Vallecano (0-2)[/a][/b][/p][h2]Key updates to keep you informed:[/h2][p][b]22:58 CET -[/b] All over in Europe, and what a night at Villa Park. Aston Villa produced a performance of class to beat Nottingham Forest 4-0, meaning they head to Istanbul on May 20th, where they will take on Freiburg, who also overcame a deficit to qualify.[/p][image alt="Aston Villa - Nottingham Forest match stats" id="192686f3-988e-4b67-9c08-49a1a06b2037" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="8d9909a0-1ca7-4076-93eb-f3ebdae0bad0" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Crystal Palace continued to live up to their favourites tag, by beating a battling Shakhtar 2-1 at Selhurst Park. An own goal and a strike from Ismaila Sarr saw them over the line. The Eagles will now play Rayo Vallecano, who beat Strasbourg 1-0 on May 27th in Leipzig.[/p][image alt="Crystal Palace - Shakhtar match stats" id="8357cb97-c65f-40b6-ab18-75376a45ba14" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="171aa72f-a535-40f7-b255-b1ea90151fbc" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]22:43 CET - He's done it again! [/b]The same shot, a different corner, John McGinn seals the game for Aston Villa with seven minutes remaining.[/p][p][b]22:40 CET - [/b]Are Aston Villa home and dry! A breathtaking counter sees their front three combine, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcginn-john/rgGnzD2e/"]John McGinn[/a], the Villa Park talisman, sweeps in a curling effort from the edge of the box to almost book their spot in the Europa League final.[/p][image alt="John McGinn scores for Aston Villa" id="880ba810-2a4b-4513-b015-86c8133781d5" credit-line="David Klein / Reuters" guid="b62b3cf0-aa59-4cc4-b399-600b036a7eca" original-width="2699" original-height="1752" /][p][b]22:39 CET - [/b]Close those airline apps, Freiburg fans, Braga have a lifeline![/p][p]In the 79th minute, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/delgado-pau-victor/QkMhPUdc/"]Pau Victor[/a] has given his side hope![/p][p][b]22:31 CET -[/b] A man up and now two goals up, Freiburg fans can start booking their flights to Istanbul. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kubler-lukas/reFzjZgO/"]Lukas Kubler[/a] has his second of the night to make it 3-0 against Braga, and 4-2 on aggregate with 19 minutes to play.[/p][image alt="Lukas Kubler celebrates" id="605f9e93-1a0a-4397-882f-928826e64e1e" credit-line="Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters / Opta by StatsPerform" guid="58dfe058-7792-4b3e-b24e-298b8a852879" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]22:20 CET -[/b] [b]Lift off at Villa Park![/b] The home side finally have a lead in the tie after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/buendia-emiliano/dYDvGYIu/"]Emi Buendia[/a] slots home a penalty calmly into the bottom left-hand corner. Not given on the pitch originally, the referee overturns his decision after a clear tug on the shirt in the box from Forest defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/milenkovic-nikola/xAEQS3wr/"]Nikola Milenkovic[/a].[/p][p]Can the away side find a leveller? They are yet to find the target tonight...[/p][image alt="Emi Buendia slots home his penalty" id="d0f2716b-317d-41a0-abb5-29fd2ae21955" credit-line="David Klein / Reuters" guid="6e87c3c2-b459-4fbc-91a5-7a67e93a0bf4" original-width="2372" original-height="1581" /][p][b]22:13 CET -[/b] More breathing room for Crystal Palace over Shakhtar, as they go 2-1 up on the night through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sarr-ismaila/ll2uTDkB/"]Ismaila Sarr[/a], getting just enough on a cross to tuck it home.[/p][image alt="Ismaila Sarr's goal for Palace" id="0a2ab80f-fd89-4886-98c7-67f3869e59f5" credit-line="Dylan Martinez / Reuters / Opta by StatsPerform" guid="f96dd4f3-4d26-443c-8001-a3d95c947d34" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]22:08 CET -[/b] Back underway across our four semi-finals, who will be making it through to the final stage?[/p][p][b]21:52 CET - [/b]All four gripping second legs have reached the halfway stage! Ready for some first-half stats?[/p][image alt="Half-time stats" id="2651e82c-f550-4f46-978b-49d0e5e6f52b" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta" guid="f6310c9a-3227-40f8-8134-cac4fd27126c" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][image alt="Match stats" id="78b81487-0961-4e8d-97ed-e8a7850ee7a8" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta" guid="3210cf9a-9072-49ef-9169-2bfb7f286b92" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][image alt="Match momentum" id="9e8abc55-87f6-4e34-b3ea-2b162bc0fc42" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta" guid="8a898415-674a-47af-8ddc-82636a0d3c8b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][image alt="Match momentum" id="c1b05c25-ac01-42c7-bdcd-78f6359b95da" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta" guid="527d17e2-473f-444f-ba83-6f52abbf8426" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]21:44 CET - [/b]Freiburg are making full use of their man advantage to now lead 2-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate![/p][p]Young Swiss midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/manzambi-johan/pIqmcnKc/"]Johan Manzambi[/a] was the man who scored, and with that, it is hard to imagine anything but Freiburg going to the Europa League final. [/p][p][b]21:40 CET - [/b]A big goal from Villa Park and it has gone to the hosts! World-class build-up play and quick feet from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/buendia-emiliano/dYDvGYIu/"]Emiliano Buendia[/a], and then a composed finish by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/watkins-ollie/rHnOkDD8/"]Ollie Watkins[/a] and Aston Villa are level in the tie.[/p][image alt="Watkins goal sequence" id="1291884e-a455-41ae-b5d3-5542c9a12919" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta" guid="be8c825c-eb53-4f9a-86bd-2cacc5474494" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]21:30 CET - [/b]Crystal Palace have now extended their lead, and it is another fortunate goal! [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pedrinho/bc5kfTe9/"]Pedro Henrique[/a] put it into his own net after a smart Daniel Munoz pull-back deflected off the Brazilian defender.[/p][p]Horror moment for the visitors who now have a mountain to climb in this tie.[/p][image alt="Pedro Henrique looks dejected after scoring an own goal" id="667e9925-bedf-4965-b4b0-f303115deaf5" credit-line="REUTERS / Dylan Martinez" guid="85403427-de52-40f9-9189-66bd133f79d8" original-width="6398" original-height="4265" /][p][b]21:21 CET - [/b]The first goal of the night has come now, though, and it has gone to Freiburg! It is turning into a nightmare start for Braga as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kubler-lukas/reFzjZgO/"]Lukas Kubler[/a] gives the hosts the lead on the night and, more importantly, levels the tie. It was an incredibly scrappy goal as the ball bounced all over the place before deflecting off Kubler's leg and in.[/p][image alt="Freiburg's Lukas Kubler celebrates scoring early goal" id="048584c8-fce6-470a-96b8-1f2303de94d6" credit-line="THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP" guid="54924fe3-44d2-4dd2-86ea-c29a48793a77" original-width="3618" original-height="2412" /][p][b]21:18 CET - [/b]Crystal Palace thought they had extended their aggregate lead in the Conference League, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/santos-yeremi/8fnHDvMe/"]Yeremy Pino[/a] was deemed to be offside by the fourth official. [/p][p][b]21:10 CET - [/b]The first big incident of the night comes from Freiburg, and it is a disaster for Braga, who are down to 10 men after young midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bocha-maho/AovdDZl1/"]Mario Dorgeles[/a] made a reckless foul on the last man. Straight red and the right call. [/p][p][b]21:05 CET - [/b]Here we go then! Matches are underway across the four different ties. This should be epic...[/p][p][b]21:57 CET - [/b]The two teams are walking out at Villa Park, and the atmosphere is electric inside the famous old stadium, with claret and blue flags to be seen everywhere you look. [/p][p]Villa Park is bouncing tonight![/p][p][b]21:50 CET - [/b]With just 10 minutes to kick-off in the four ties, the anticipation is building for what promises to be a thrilling night of football and one that decides our 2025/26 Europa League and Conference League finalists.[/p][embed guid="3b8afd7e-638d-4b45-aaf0-cf20238c3c0c" url="https://x.com/Conf_League/status/2052297633801064630" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]20:20 CET - [/b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Aston Villa[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nottingham/UsushcZr/"]Nottingham Forest[/a] might be at opposite ends of the Premier League table as Villa look set to finish in the top five and qualify for the Champions League, whilst Forest have been involved in a relegation battle.[/p][p]However, it is Vítor Pereira's side that is in superior form heading into tonight's clash after winning their last four matches in all competitions. Unai Emery's side have lost their last three games, meanwhile. Therefore, it is anyone's guess which team will come out on top tonight! [/p][embed guid="89be0374-5ada-407a-baaf-f5af2b5e23a1" url="https://x.com/EuropaLeague/status/2052447941336674734" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]19:50 CET - [/b]Team news is in from all four matches tonight! Unai Emery has made one change to his starting lineup as the Spaniard makes just one change from last week's clash, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lindelof-victor/OIp0Le1f/"]Victor Lindelof[/a] starts ahead of the injured [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/onana-amadou/roId3gPf/"]Amadou Onana[/a]. That also means Emery has gone with a back three tonight with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/digne-lucas/v9Ux4sua/"]Lucas Digne[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cash-matty/hfxPh7Kn/"]Matty Cash[/a] set to play as wing-backs. [/p][p]The big news from the visitors' lineup is that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gibbs-white-morgan/beZNT1bB/"]Morgan Gibbs-White[/a] is not fit to start for Forest, meaning that fellow Englishman [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcatee-james/zwOgsDSc/"]James McAtee[/a] takes his place in midfield. [/p][image alt="Starting lineups" id="08ccf076-77ca-40cc-aa94-29d207519b2a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="38c93212-8983-4460-b1f9-955b9e9b6c3f" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Check out the lineups for the other three big ties tonight:[/p][image alt="Freiburg vs Braga lineups" id="4560da09-9436-45f4-82df-3fe3b86801f8" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="736b4968-0a5d-49ec-83e6-64b87948f962" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][image alt="Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk starting lineups" id="af40e3a3-0c4a-45f0-8ddd-0336f38f2926" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="f81729bd-8d5a-4fe4-bbd4-0e15a0f4d798" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][image alt="Strasborug vs Rayo Vallecano lineups" id="9424da06-e327-45aa-ae70-b5114ea2f60c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="18d37c86-6f78-497b-9963-6c372d34527d" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b]19:10 CET - [/b]Good evening and welcome to a fascinating night in the Europa League and Conference League semi-final second legs! Tonight is the night when we find out who will be our 2025/26 finalists in both prestigious competitions.[/p][p]Will [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Aston Villa[/a] find a way past in-form [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nottingham/UsushcZr/"]Nottingham Forest[/a] in front of their home fans? Can [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace's[/a] dream European debut continue and put them one win from glory?[/p][p]All questions will be answered in the next few hours, so be sure to stay tuned with us all night to witness all the drama unfold. [/p][embed guid="57b9cb88-e37d-4f1d-8e2c-8221ac6a64a2" url="https://x.com/EuropaLeague/status/2052336030485807321" social-type="twitter" /]