Aston Villa won the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie, beating Bologna 3-1 as Ollie Watkins scored a brace, while Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with FC Porto.

Aston Villa opened their quarter-final tie with a solid two-goal lead, beating Italian side Bologna 3-1 away from home.

The Villains took the lead early from a corner, with a set-piece delivery from Youri Tielemans allowing Eric Konsa to nod home and open the scoring just before half-time.

After the break, Aston Villa doubled their lead with a swift assist from Buendia, which found Ollie Watkins, allowing the Englishman to finish calmly.

Late into added time, Bologna pulled one back with a brilliant curled effort from Jonathan Rowe, assisted by Jhon Lucumi, who got his first assist of the campaign.

Just before the final whistle, Ollie Watkins restored the two-goal advantage, with Tielemans getting his second assist of the night.

The result gives Unai Emery a solid two-goal advantage as Villa face Bologna next Thursday at Villa Park.

Nottingham Forest and FC Porto settled for a 1-1 draw as they head into the second leg with no margin for error.

Porto scored first with an early goal from young winger Willian Gomes just 11 minutes into the game.

Forest made an instant response through an outrageous own goal from Martin Fernandes.

Shortly after, they thought they had taken the lead through Igor Jesus, but the goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check for a mid-air collision with Diogo Costa.

The decision allowed Porto to push forward, creating several chances through Gomes, Varela, and others, but they were unable to find a winner.

The game ended level, leaving both sides another opportunity to determine the winner of the tie and who would progress to the semis.

Elsewhere in the Europa League quarter-finals, Freiburg thrashed Celta Vigo 3-0, putting the German side in a strong position heading into the next leg.

Crystal Palace edged Fiorentina 3-0, giving the London club a massive advantage in their Conference League quarter-final tie.

The performance by Oliver Glasner’s side saw them take the lead within minutes after a challenge by Dodô on Evan Guessand, which gave the hosts a penalty advantage, allowing Jean-Philippe Mateta to convert brilliantly from the spot.

The goal came after numerous opportunities were missed by David Muñoz, Guessand and Mateta, and denied by David De Gea.

The Eagles doubled their lead with a goal from Tyrell Mitchell right before halftime, assisted by Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The home side extended their lead late in the game, with Ismaïla Sarr delivering a header in the 90th minute to seal the victory.

Elsewhere in the UEFA Conference League, Rayo Vallecano thrashed AEK Athens 3-0, Mainz edged Strasbourg 2-0, while AZ Alkmaar suffered a 3-0 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk.