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Legendary European Cup winner Garry Birtles says Vitor Pereira has "got Forest playing in a way he loves".

Forest are five points clear of the relegation zone, have not lost in nine games, and take a slender advantage to Aston Villa for next week's second leg of their Europa League semi-final.

"In the end, they just about shaded it," Birtles told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast.

"Villa started the brightest but Forest weathered the storm really well. Both defences should be proud of themselves because they were solid and compact. It was just that penalty decision which changed the game.

"It was just a very good all-round performance from Forest - not extravagant, but effective.

"Chris Wood being back in the team is a huge boost. Playing two up front has confused defenders in the past three or four games because you don't often see two up front any more. The manager deserves great credit for that.

"Pereira has taken everything on board and has got Forest playing in a way he loves. Nine unbeaten is a hell of a run to be on at the moment.

"Pressure comes on you when you're in these moments so it's how you handle that. Hopefully Forest can learn from the end of last season and get over the line in these pressure moments in the Premier League and Europe.

"Any team playing the first leg of a semi-final at home will take any kind of lead for the second leg because the pressure is now on Villa to get back on the game."

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Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (kick-off 15:00).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Pereira said he was in the dark on a lot of team news on the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Dan Ndoye, Jair Cunha and Murillo, with updates expected from his staff over the weekend.

• As he has said previously, Pereira thinks his players "recover fast" from victories in the Europa League because of a positive energy.

• He explained a change in energy is what has helped him have a positive mid-season impact at Forest and Wolves. Pereira explained: "When you start in the middle of a season, it is because something is missing. Maybe it's not about the previous coaches because they are top coaches, top managers. Sometimes it's about, or most of the time, in my opinion, it's about the energy. We need to recharge the energy of the team. Tactically, I try my ideas. We have our ideas and we try to, if they buy the idea, if they feel that we are trying to make them comfortable in the roles, try to give them confidence to play, to express themselves and in the end to connect everybody. This is the most important for me, to connect everybody in the club. With the supporters, the team, between the players, between the staff and the players and trying to create something that we are fighting together."

• On moving on from a Europa League win he said: "I will try to think just about the Chelsea game because it's our Champions League. It's very important for us. And we will try to go there to compete with the players. I prefer a fit player without injury problems, than someone that goes inside the pitch with problems, because with problems, we cannot give 100% and in this moment we need to run and fight."

• On being nominated for Manager of the Month: "It is maybe a coincidence, but last season, April was my month. Maybe April is my lucky month. I don't know if I deserve, believe me, I don't know, but it's not about me, it's not about me. It's about this team, this group of players that have been fighting a lot, facing a lot of problems this season. And we are in a condition that we can finish the league in a way that they deserve and the supporters deserve. They deserve that we work a lot."

• Asked if he will watch the likes of Tottenham and West Ham playing earlier in the weekend, Pereira offered: "They play lunchtime or dinner time? Because if they play lunchtime, if I watch the game, maybe I won't have a good lunch. It's better to not watch … indigestion maybe. It's better to not to see. And the dinner is the same."

• He added: "We can just control what we can do, what we put every day is on the pitch when we play in our games. And to control our life, we need to put everything there and believe that we can, we'll get the points. I don't know how many points, believe me, because I think this season, it will be a special season in terms of points to avoid relegation. It is better to get points every game. It is better to try to win every game, not to wait for the other results."

• The manager revealed he has been using academy players to help in training so that he doesn't have to demand overly intense sessions from his squad. He explained: "Sometimes I ask the academy to come, to run. Like they come to, to run, they go in front, running, running, running, and we try to follow them. They are helping us a lot because we ask them to come in our training to help us to prepare the games. For them, it's good because they can and they are with the first team and I can see them and analyse their qualities. And I have two teams to prepare the game. I put one team, two minutes, out, the other team, two minutes, out, the other team, two minutes, out. It means that I prepare everyone, with the help of our academy players. This is what we are doing in this moment."

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Since returning to the Premier League in 2022, Nottingham Forest are unbeaten at Stamford Bridge and they will hope to preserve that record and boost their survival hopes when they face Chelsea on Monday (15:00 BST).

These two sides could not be in more contrasting form. Forest are unbeaten in their last six league games, with only Brighton picking up more points than the relegation-threatened side's 12 since the start of March.

However, the hosts have lost and failed to score in each of their last five league games, a run that saw Liam Rosenior's spell at the club come to an end. Chelsea have not lost six in a row since November 1993 and have never lost that many in a row without scoring in their league history.

It is a massive chance for the Tricky Trees to push further away from the drop zone after their impressive 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland. However, they won't be sitting comfortably just yet, as relegation rivals West Ham and Tottenham won their games last Saturday to leave the table as it was before the weekend's results.

Chelsea did manage to arrest their sliding form with a confidence-boosting 1-0 victory in the FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United under the stewardship of interim boss Calum McFarlane. He proved himself earlier this season by guiding the side to a surprising draw at Manchester City after Enzo Maresca's sacking.

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You can hear all the post-match reaction, analysis and interviews from Nottingham Forest's 1-0 Europa League semi-final first leg win over Aston Villa on the latest episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast.

Former Forest man James Perch said: "Rip-roaring. The kind of game you expect from a semi-final where two teams are going at it hammer and tongs and nothing much is given either way.

"I just loved the intensity and battling tonight. There were big tackles and big impact all over the pitch. The amount of times Elliot Anderson won the ball back was frightening - he was magnificent tonight, the best player on a park full of top players.

"You want your top players to perform in a semi-final or final and show what they've got and the back four and goalkeeper were excellent tonight.

"The semi-final is still on a knife-edge. It was basically our first XI and fair play to those lads who put a right shift in. They played really well, without the ball for a lot of it as Villa tried to pull us around and get into little pockets.

"They have some excellent players but a few long shots and that Watkins chance was all they had all night. We were playing a top team that will play in the Champions League next year and that's how you beat them.

"At the end of it something has to go your way and Lucas Digne took a risk and gave away the handball. Omari Hutchinson didn't give it up, asked the question, and got the reward."

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