Aston Villa produced a stunning comeback to crush Nottingham Forest 4-0 and book their place in the UEFA Europa League final after overturning a first-leg deficit on a memorable night at Villa Park.
Trailing 1-0 from the semi-final first leg, Villa started with intensity as both sides chased a place in the final.
Early chances arrived at both ends, with Omari Hutchinson bending an effort narrowly wide after cutting inside Lucas Digne, while Stefan Ortega reacted sharply to tip Pau Torres’ header over the bar.
Emiliano Buendía remained heavily involved in the early exchanges, seeing a dangerous free-kick blocked by Forest’s wall before Youri Tielemans headed off target from the resulting corner.
The hosts gradually tightened their grip on the contest, although the commitment from both teams was evident when Ollie Watkins and Morato collided in an aerial challenge.
Watkins eventually broke the deadlock shortly after the restart to level the tie on aggregate.
Buendía drove into space before slipping a precise pass into the path of the striker, who arrived unmarked inside the six-yard box to convert with ease.
Villa continued to push forward relentlessly, with Watkins forcing another strong save from Ortega before the visitors attempted to regain control through the introduction of captain Ryan Yates.
However, Unai Emery’s side extended their advantage in the 56th minute after Nikola Milenkovic was penalised for pulling Pau Torres’ shirt inside the area. Buendía calmly dispatched the resulting penalty beyond Ortega to put Villa ahead in the tie for the first time.
Watkins thought he had added another moments later, only for the offside flag to deny him, while John McGinn also tested Ortega as the hosts continued to dominate proceedings.
McGinn eventually added Villa’s third after collecting Watkins’ pass on the edge of the area and curling a superb finish into the far corner to spark wild celebrations around Villa Park.
The midfielder was not finished there, as Morgan Rogers soon teed him up again and McGinn produced another precise finish into the opposite corner to seal an emphatic victory.
The result ended Villa’s three-match losing streak and secured only the club’s second-ever European final appearance, where they will face SC Freiburg 44 years after their first continental final.
Forest, meanwhile, saw their 10-match unbeaten run come to an end as their Europa League journey was halted.
