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Aston Villa 4-1 Nottingham Forest: Villa roar into Europa League final, Palace in Conference League final - as it happened

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Emery looks forward to 'special' Villa vs. Forest semifinal (1:15)

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery encouraged his players to "enjoy competing" on home turf ahead of their Europa League semifinal on Thursday. (1:15)

Aston Villa thrashed Nottingham Forest 4-1 to reach the Europa League final, where they will face Freiburg on May 20.

A fired-up Villa side erased Forest's 1-0 first-leg lead in style, as Ollie Watkins swept home from Emiliano Buendía's brilliant assist before Buendía converted a cool penalty to inspire the comeback.

Captain John McGinn stole the spotlight with a blistering double in a three-minute burst, curling home two superb finishes to send Villa into their first European final in 44 years.

Crystal Palace built on their 3-1 first leg advantage against Shakhtar Donetsk, with a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park, to book their spot in the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano.

Re-live the action below.

Villa arrived under pressure after slipping to three consecutive defeats for the first time since 2024, their poor run capped by a damaging 2-1 loss to Tottenham last time out.

Forest were high on confidence, after a heavily rotated side swept aside Chelsea with a 3-1 win, to extend their unbeaten run to ten games.

Despite a recent dip in form, Unai Emery's side sit fifth in the Premier League, with Champions League qualification still firmly in their reach.

Forest have been revived under Vitor Pereira who is steering them closer to Premier League survival. Currently sat in 16th, five points adrift of Tottenham, Forest will be charged by a golden opportunity to end the season on a high.

Villa had won their last four home games against Forest, the latest a 3-1 win in the league when John McGinn scored twice after Ollie Watkins' opener.