Thursday night saw the first leg of the Europa League and Conference League semi-finals at the Europa League and Conference League, second and thir tier of UEFA club competitions. In the Europa League, Braga and Nottingham Forest took a narrow lead thanks to their home advantage, and will have to defend the result in the second leg next week.
In the Conference League, the favourite Crystal Palace defeated Shakhtar Donetsk with a two goal lead away that may be almost definitive, while in Madrid, Rayo Vallecano defeated Strasbourg with the roaring support of the working class neighbourhood south of Spain that's making into headlines all across Europe. In any case, it will all be decided next week...
Europa League results from April 30:
Braga 2-1 Freiburg
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa
Conference League results from April 30:
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Crystal Palace
Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Strasbourg
Europa League semi-finals on May 7
Aston Villa vs. Nottingham Forest: 21:00 CEST, 20:00 BST
Freiburg vs. Braga: 21:00 CEST, 20:00 BST
Conference League semi-finals on May 7
Strasbourg vs. Rayo Vallecano: 21:00 CEST, 20:00 BST
Crystal Palace vs. Shakhtar Donetsk: 21:00 CEST, 20:00 BST