Real Betis, Celta Vigo, Porto advance to quarters with comprehensive wins
London: Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa battled their way into the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals after contrasting Round of 16 victories.
Forest edged past FC Midtjylland 3-0 on penalties after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate, following a 2-1 second-leg win at the MCH Arena. Dominant throughout, Forest saw efforts from Ryan Yates and Lorenzo Lucca denied before Nicolas Dominguez’s first-half strike levelled the tie. The visitors were flawless in the shootout as Midtjylland faltered, sealing progression.
At Villa Park, Villa eased into the last eight with a 2-0 win over LOSC Lille to complete a 3-0 aggregate triumph. Skipper John McGinn opened the scoring after being set up by Jadon Sancho, while Leon Bailey struck soon after coming off the bench. Unai Emery’s side thus reached a European quarterfinal for a third straight season.
Elsewhere, Real Betis overturned a first-leg deficit to thrash Panathinaikos 4-0 (4-1 agg), with Aitor Ruibal scoring twice. Celta Vigo beat Lyon 2-0 to progress 3-1 on aggregate, aided by a red card to Moussa Niakhate. FC Porto advanced 4-1 on aggregate against Stuttgart, with goalkeeper Diogo Costa playing a decisive role.
