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Europa League results: Aston Villa and Freiburg take huge steps forward in the quarter-finals

Results from the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals.
Javier Escribano Editor Spain Updated 10 April 2026

Freiburg and Aston Villa has taken big steps forwards into Europa League semi-finals, at the expense of Bologna and Celta de Vigo, who can only dream of miraculous comebacks next week. Freiburg punished Vigo at home, 3-0, the largest result of the matchday on Thursday, April 9.

Aston Villa, the main favourite for the title, crushed Bologna 3-1 away: the Italian club have a large deficit to overcome next week at Villa Park. Meanwhile, Porto and Nottingham Forest, as well as Braga and Betis, will decide everything next week, after two 1-1 draws.

  • Braga 1-1 Real Betis
  • SC Freiburg 3-0 Celta Vigo
  • Bologna 1-3 Aston Villa
  • Porto 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Europa League games on Thursday, April 16

  • Celta Vigo vs. Freiburg — 18:45 CEST / 17:45 BST
  • Real Betis vs. Braga (1-1) — 21:00 CEST / 20:00 BST
  • Nottingham Forest vs. Porto — 21:00 CEST / 20:00 BST
  • Aston Villa vs. Bologna — 21:00 CEST / 20:00 BST

The winner of the Betis-Braga will likely face Freiburg, unless Celta achieves a great comeback. And the winner of Porto-Nottingham Forest would face Aston Villa or Bologna in the semi-finals between April 30 and May 7, with the final scheduled for May 20. Who do you think will win Europa League this season?

Editor Spain Javier Escribano wrote for Gamereactor from 2024, covering sport alongside video games and world news. His work appeared on the Spanish and international editions.
Full profile Gamereactor author since 2024 · 5,329 published articles
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