There was a heady atmosphere in Bologna before this match, with flags flying everywhere and the legend “weareone” plastered on the walls of the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. Into this fervent atmosphere stepped Aston Villa, with warnings against complacency from their manager ringing in their ears. The Premier League side did not play well and were second best for much of the night, but they did stay supremely cool and turned the nervous energy of their hosts back on them to take a two-goal lead home to Birmingham.

Ezri Konsa opened the scoring after a gaffe by the goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, before a second-half double from Ollie Watkins determined the outcome of the match and overwrote Jonathan Rowe’s late goal for the hosts. Bologna’s Englishman, a former Norwich City winger, was likely the man of the match, but Watkins’ ability to remain calm in pressured situations will surely prove the more decisive factor in this tie.

On the night Chris Wood returned from six months on the sidelines, a freakish own goal by the Porto defender Martim Fernandes earned Nottingham Forest a draw and fostered optimism of advancing to the Europa League semi-finals.

The New Zealand striker was withdrawn at the interval, Vitor Pereira mindful of the bigger picture with Sunday’s home match against Aston Villa the first of seven matches Forest have to preserve their Premier League status. This all remains a juggling act for Pereira, back here in the red corner for the first time since guiding Porto to successive titles.

Ollie Watkins scored twice to give Unai Emery’s side a healthy advantage before the return leg at home

The players are out. The DJ presses play on the Unai Emery anthem.

Federico Bernardeschi has just a couple of goals in Serie A for Bologna this season – but he’s their leading man in the Europa League, with five this campaign. He scored in both legs of their last-16 triumph against Roma.

A ludicrous Martim Fernandes own goal allowed Nottingham Forest to leave Porto level going into the second leg

Thiago Silva is at the back for Porto, at a very young 41. He must ruddy love football. I would have been a deck chair long ago. It is, however, nice to know there are still a few active footballers who are older than me.

This is relevant, in many ways, to this game.

The New Zealand striker provides a welcome boost as Forest face crunch games in the league and in Europe

Nobody has scored more goals in the Europa League this season than Igor Jesus and yet the overwhelming source of interest surrounding Nottingham Forest on arrival in northern Portugal on Wednesday was another striker. Only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak outscored Chris Wood in the Premier League last season and the New Zealand frontman has been slowly building fitness and working towards a long-awaited first-team return.

All eyes were on Wood at last weekend’s interactive open-training session, staged at the City Ground. He has been ticking off different targets since knee surgery in December and at the end of last month the 34-year-old made a welcome goalscoring comeback 11 minutes into his return to action for Forest under-21s against Newcastle, in modest surroundings at Loughborough University’s stadium in front of a crowd totalling a couple of hundred: students, Forest fans, a few from the north-east.