Roundup of the Quarter-Final action as the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League hit the business end.
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest had their eye on an all-English semi-final showdown as they took on Bologna and Porto respectively.
Real Betis and Celta Vigo meanwhile had their sight on an all-Spanish semi-final as they came up against Braga and SC Freiburg respectively in their Quarter-Final ties.
Braga 5-3 Real Betis
Cucho Hernandez’s penalty rescued Real Betis a 1-1 draw away to Braga in the first leg, after Florian Grillitsch had put the Portuguese hosts into a fifth-minute lead.
Braga eventually set up a semi-final date against SC Freiburg after a 4-2 victory at Real Betis in the second leg, in which Antony and Abde Ezzalzouli put the Spanish hosts in front before Pau Victor and Vitor Carvalho restored parity only for Ricardo Horta’s penalty and Jean-Baptiste Gorby to seal Braga’s comeback.
SC Freiburg 6-1 Celta Vigo
Vincenzo Grifo, Jan-Niklas Beste and Matthias Ginter all found the net as Freiburg cruised to a surprise 3-0 first leg victory at home to Celta Vigo.
Freiburg eventually sealed a 6-1 aggregate victory after Igor Matanovic’s opener and Yuito Suzuki’s brace fired them to a 3-1 away second-leg win, despite Williot Swedberg’s consolatory injury-time effort for Vigo.
Porto 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Martim Fernandes’ comedical 13th-minute own-goal from 45 yards saw Forest snatch a 1-1 draw away to Porto in the first leg, after William Gomes had netted a 11th-minute opener.
Morgan Gibbs-White deflected 12th-minute strike proved enough for Forest to win 1-0 at home in the second leg to progress 2-1 on aggregate, after Porto was reduced to ten men following Jan Bednarek’s eighth-minute red card for a reckless foul on Chris Wood.
Bologna 1-7 Aston Villa
Ezri Konsa’s header and Ollie Watkins’ second-half brace saw Aston Villa clinch a 3-1 first-leg victory at Bologna, despite Jonathan Rowe’s 90th-minute consolatory effort for the Italian hosts.
Konsa and Watkins were again on the scoresheet as Villa eventually advanced 7-1 on aggregate into the semi-finals to face Forest, whilst Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers also found the net in a 4-0 second-leg win at home.
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