Aston Villa produced a ruthless second leg performance at Villa Park to dismantle Nottingham Forest 4-0 and overturn a first leg deficit, sealing a 4-1 aggregate win in their Europa League semi final.

Trailing 1-0 from the opening tie, Unai Emery’s side wasted little time taking control of the contest. The breakthrough arrived in the 36th minute when Ollie Watkins finished coolly after being slipped in by Emiliano Buendia, sparking belief inside a tense Villa Park.

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From there, Forest simply could not live with the intensity.

Buendia doubled the lead from the penalty spot after a VAR intervention confirmed a foul on Pau Torres, despite Stefan Ortega getting a hand to it. That made it 2-0 on the night and level on aggregate, with Villa now firmly in charge of the tie.

The knockout blow came in a devastating seven minute spell after the hour mark. Watkins turned provider this time, feeding John McGinn for a brilliant finish into the bottom corner before the Scot struck again moments later with a clinical drive from the edge of the box to make it 4-0.

Forest, who had led the tie after the first leg, were completely overrun in midfield and offered little response as Villa controlled the tempo and territory.

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Late substitutions from Emery allowed the home side to see out the match comfortably, with Emiliano Martinez barely tested as the game drifted to full time.

It was a statement performance from Villa, powered by McGinn’s energy and Watkins’ sharpness in the final third, as they booked their place in the final in emphatic fashion.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith