Nottingham Forest’s Europa League journey ended in heavy fashion at Villa Park, where Aston Villa overturned the first-leg deficit with a 4-0 win to take the semi-final 4-1 on aggregate. Forest, who arrived with a 1-0 advantage, struggled in attack and allowed Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendia and John McGinn to decide the tie.

Head coach Vitor Pereira accepted Forest fell short of the required level, yet stressed the impact of a stretched squad. Several regular starters missed the second leg through injury, leaving the visitors short of trusted options as the pressure of a European semi-final and a demanding schedule converged.

Pereira highlighted how a weakened bench influenced Forest’s response once Villa seized control of the game. “To compete in a semi-final and against a team like Aston Villa, we need everyone in the conditions to compete,” Pereira told TNT Sports. “If you look before the game, on the bench, we [effectively] had three players, because the other ones were injured. [On] our bench, the only solutions we had from the first team was [Dilane] Bakwa, [Lorenzo] Luccaand [Ryan] Yates.Murillo we tried, but he was injured and not in condition, This is very short to come here without solutions.”

The head coach later listed the absentees who missed the second leg, underlining how many established names were missing. “[Ola] Aina, out. Morgan [Gibbs-White] out. [Ibrahim] Sangare, out. Murillo, out. Callum [Hudson-Odoi], out. [Dan] Ndoye, out. To compete in a game in these conditions, after a game against Chelsea, and play in a semi-final is not possible. This is why I said we were not able to compete.”

Villa’s forwards capitalised on Forest’s problems across both legs, overturning the deficit with authority. Watkins and Buendia struck to flip the tie, before McGinn added two late goals. Forest rarely threatened Emi Martinez, despite needing an away goal, and were pinned back for long spells by Villa’s aggressive attacking play.

Expected goals data reflected that imbalance in chances created across the 90 minutes. Forest recorded just 0.8 expected goals from seven shots, managing only two efforts on target. Villa, by contrast, produced 2.6 expected goals from 18 attempts, with 10 of those testing the goalkeeper, underlining the hosts’ greater threat in advanced areas.

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Forest’s defeat continued a difficult recent record in major cup semi-finals. The club have now exited at this stage in three straight seasons across different competitions. Previous last-four losses came against Manchester United in the 2022-23 EFL Cup and against Manchester City in the 2024-25 FA Cup, before this Europa League elimination.

Pereira also pointed to the quick turnaround after Forest’s 3-1 Premier League win over Chelsea on Monday. “Playing against Chelsea and then travelling again after three days, it was not possible. I’m very proud of our supporters. They tried on this long road to help us, but it was not possible. It is a pity, but I am proud of my players because they tried everything.”

With European hopes over, Forest now switch focus back to domestic survival in the Premier League. Pereira’s team have three league fixtures left to protect their status, beginning with Newcastle’s visit to the City Ground on Sunday, and must quickly move on from the heavy Europa League loss at Aston Villa.