There was a palpable energy from the stands ahead of kick-off with both sides anticipating the night of their dreams, and that translated to a frantic opening to proceedings on the pitch.
There were still moments of quality, though, with Omari Hutchinson cutting inside Lucas Digne but curling his shot agonisingly wide before Stefan Ortega tipped Pau Torres’ header over the crossbar.
Emiliano Buendia then won a free-kick in a dangerous area but saw his effort deflected behind by the Tricky Trees’ wall, before Youri Tielemans headed wide from the ensuing corner.
While the Villans were beginning to take control, the dedication of both teams was on full display when Ollie Watkins and Morato clashed heads.
Undeterred, Watkins put his side ahead on the night and levelled the tie within five minutes of play resuming, as he laid the ball off to Buendía for the Argentine to dance his way into space and pick out his striker, who had ghosted into the six-yard box for a simple finish.
Villa and their bandaged frontman showed no signs of slowing down before the break, as Watkins saw a venomous strike palmed away.
Vitor Pereira turned to club captain Ryan Yates ahead of the restart, and he immediately set out to disrupt the hosts’ play.
Despite that, Unai Emery’s side had a penalty in the 56th minute after Nikola Milenkovic pulled Torres’ shirt, and Buendía beat Ortega’s outstretched hand with a clinical spot-kick to put his side ahead in the tie for the first time.
Watkins struck again shortly after but was denied by the offside flag, before John McGinn guided an attempt straight at Ortega as Villa continued to look imperious.
However, the Villans captain was far more precise when Watkins slid the ball to him on the edge of the box, as McGinn picked out the far corner to inspire rapturous celebrations.
Incredibly, McGinn was found by Rogers moments later and went for the opposite corner, but his effort had the same outcome to cap off a wonderful evening for his side as Aston Villa convincingly ended their three-game losing streak to qualify for their second-ever European final, where they will meet Freiburg, 44 years after their first.
In doing so, they also ended Nottingham Forest’s 10-game unbeaten run and knocked them out of the UEL.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa)
