Aston Villa FC v FC Salzburg - UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD8Getty Images Sport

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Europa League, results and round of 16 fixtures: Aston Villa and Porto confirm their status as favourites. Nottingham Forest knocked out

The first leg of the Europa League round of 16 took place, with Italian teams not the only ones on the pitch. The other matches were very evenly balanced, with few goals and a few surprise results. Let's see how it went.

  • Porto di Farioli flies high, winning 2-1 away at Stuttgart with goals from Moffi and Mora, who get the better of Undav. The other favourite to win the competition, Aston Villa, also does well, thanks to Watkins, winning away at Lille (the winner of this tie will face the Italian side in the next round). In a surprise result, Panathinaikos beat Real Betis 1-0, with the Greeks, despite being down to ten men, beating the Spaniards – who were also down to ten men – thanks to Taborda.

    Fonseca's Lyon and Endrick drew in the final minutes at Celta Vigo (1-1), while Nottingham Forest suffered a heavy defeat at home to Midtjylland. Ferencvaros (2-0 against Braga) and Genk (1-0 against Freiburg) did well. The return legs will be played in a week's time.

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