Two goals from Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa to a 3-1 win at Bologna in their Europa League quarterfinal first leg on Thursday -- the standout result in a strong night for Premier League sides in Europe.
A much-changed Nottingham Forest side took a 1-1 draw at Porto back to the Midlands, after a chaotic few minutes that saw Vitor Pereira's side get level after a remarkable own goal from Martim Fernandes.
Crystal Palace are in prime position to reach the semifinals of the Conference League after brushing aside Fiorentina 3-0 at Selhurst Park, with Jean-Philippe Mateta, Tyrick Mitchell and Ismaïla Sarr delivering the goals.
Here's how an entertaining night of European football happened.
It had been a week of mixed fortunes for English sides in Europe prior to Thursday. Arsenal took a 1-0 win at Sporting Lisbon in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday, securing a fifth spot in next season's tournament for Premier League clubs.
Liverpool were outclassed by Paris Saint-Germain a day later in the French capital, leaving them with a 2-0 deficit to overcome at Anfield.
But big wins for Villa and Palace were complemented by a solid Forest performance to get a draw in Portugal, leaving all three sides in great stead to progress in the return fixtures next week.