Europa League QFs: Aston Villa beat Bologna; Nottingham Forest hold FC Porto to first-leg draw

Bologna: Ezri Konsa headed the opener before Ollie Watkins struck twice to give Aston Villa 3-1 victory over Bologna and a first-leg advantage in their Europa League quarterfinal opener.

An eighth consecutive Europa League triumph also marked the club’s first win in a UEFA match in Italy on our first visit to the country since 1994.

Unai Emery, Aston Villa head coach said after the win, "It's a really fantastic result. Maybe in the first half we were a little hesitant. We were not brilliant, but we were focused. We knew set pieces should be a way to get something. The second half was completely different and we started fantastically. My message inside the dressing room is to keep respecting what Bologna can do in the second leg."

Nottingham Forest played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Reds’ Europa League quarter final tie against FC Porto at the Estadio do Dragao.

Porto began brightly and could have taken the lead inside a minute, but visiting keeper Stefan Ortega was equal to Terem Moffi’s attempt to find the bottom corner.

The Dragoes’ early intensity paid off with a little over ten minutes gone as William Gomes slammed Gabriel Veiga’s defence-splitting delivery high into the Forest goal to cap an incisive passing move from the hosts.

Porto were level in bizarre fashion barely 180 seconds later when Martim Fernandes’ back pass eluded his skipper Diogo Costa in the Porto goal and rolled into the net.

Cucho Hernandez's second-half penalty cancelled out an early Florian Grillitsch opener as Braga and Real Betis settled for a 1-1 draw.

The tie is fascinatingly poised ahead of the return in Seville next week after a tight, engaging affair at Estádio Municipal de Braga ended all square.

SC Freiburg took control of their quarterfinal against Celta Vigo with a 3-0 first-leg home win, leaving Julian Schuster's side well placed before the return in Vigo.

In the club's first European quarterfinal, Freiburg set the tone immediately. The home side pinned the visitors back in the opening stages and turned that pressure into a deserved lead after 10 minutes.

The hosts kept control rather than retreating. Their counter-pressing shut down the Spanish side's transition threat and helped produce the second goal in the 32nd minute. Freiburg added a third from a corner. Beste's delivery from the left found Matthias Ginter, who won his aerial duel and headed in to make it 3-0. Agencies

Also Read: Ayush Shetty shocks world No. 4 Jonatan Christie, storms into Asia Championships semis