Nottingham Forest overcame a scare in Fenerbahce and, despite losing 2-1 at the City Ground in Thursday’s second leg, won 4-2 on aggregate to book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Vitor Pereira had already won 3-0 against Istanbul last week and could afford to be rotated in for the knockout play-off against Thailand, but the difference in performance could not have been greater.
The Forrests were also the architects of their own difficulties, making a seemingly simple task extremely difficult.
The first penalty came in the 22nd minute, when Kerem Akturkoglu ran home after Fenerbahce’s ruthless breakthrough and handed the visitors a lifeline.
This gave Fenerbahce real confidence and squandered brilliant chances from Akturkoglu and Siddiqui Çeliv to equalize in the first half.
The match was abandoned just seconds after kick-off after a Fenerbahce fan threw a smoke bomb onto the pitch.
After 45 minutes with zero shots on target, too many turnovers and lost duels, Pereira made four changes at half-time, bringing on Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus, Ola Aina and Ibrahim Sangare, although he said it was “difficult” after the game.
However, a few seconds into the second half, another blunder occurred and Fenerbahce were awarded a penalty. Jair Cunha stepped out to catch Akturkoglu and a VAR check ruled that he was on the field.
Fenerbahce’s Kerem Akturkoglu scores the opening goal against Nottingham Forest
It was the forward who stepped up and effortlessly scored his second goal of the night, giving the Turkish side real hope of leveling up on aggregate.
But Forest quickly found their rhythm, as they have in the previous two games under Pereira, with substitutes showing their magic, even though their cautious approach to possession did little to calm the home fans’ nerves.
Nottingham Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi scores at the City Ground on Thursday
Then, as the unfortunate whistle began to sound, Forrest answered. The cross that Aina swung through was met by Hudson-Odoi on the left side of the area, and it was a combination of two substitute players. He then used his incredible speed to outrun defenders and fire his first European goal of the season into the top corner.
The sense of relief was palpable around the City Ground, with injury-hit Fenerbahçe regaining their remaining strength. Forest will take part in Friday’s last-16 draw and will face either Real Betis or FC Midtjylland.
Pereira: “It was a risk to change six players”
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira: “It’s not easy to maintain the level when you change half of the team. We have an important game in three days, so it’s my responsibility. With my decision, I will manage the next game and try to get some players back on their feet. It won’t be easy. It will change a lot.”
“We are at a point in the season where we have to think not just about one game, but about two games and the next game. It was a risk because we decided to make six changes to the team. If we make one or two changes, the players can be in the middle of the others and we don’t miss out on quality.”
“But when you change six players, they are not used to playing 90 minutes. It is a risk and I decided to take this risk. I made the decision because we need to think about the game against Brighton, because it is very important for us. We need to go there with fuel and energy.”
“We conceded a goal and lost confidence to play. It was difficult to have four substitutes at half-time, but I told the players it was my decision. The game was a dangerous situation for us. They scored the second goal to start the second half and after we started playing and creating.”
“We have a big chance to score the second goal. OK, this is important to keep in mind. We know they came here to fight for a result.”
On learnings: “For me, too. You never know what’s going to happen when you change five players. When the pressure starts to build, when you get stressed, it’s hard to be yourself if you don’t play every game. At the end of the day, we’re in a competition, so let’s move on and think about Brighton.”
Hudson-Odoi: We made it difficult for ourselves.
Hudson-Odoi scores his first European goal of the season against Fenerbahce
Nottingham Forest goalscorer Callum Hudson-Odoi told TNT Sports: “We made things difficult for ourselves. Sometimes when you’re in the lead it feels a bit easy, but after they scored the second goal we had a great reaction.”
“We wanted to score and we did. Even if we didn’t get the result that night, it’s important to get through.”
On what Forest needed to do in the second half: “We needed to step it up a little bit more and focus on what we know we do best, which is press high with the ball and go get the ball high up.”
“It was disappointing to score the second goal so soon in the second half, but we responded very well.
“In those situations where they’re scoring a few goals, you have to settle the game down. They’re trying to chase the game down, but we had to do what we know best: keep the ball, create more chances and aim for goals.”
“Scoring the goal gives us more room to attack. We just have to keep working hard and pushing ourselves to get a result.”
On facing Real Betis or Midtjylland in the last 16: “Whoever comes, we will be ready for the game.”
What is the Europa League schedule?
Round of 16 Draw: February 27, 12:00 p.m.
Round 16: March 12 and 19, 2026
Quarterfinals: April 9 and 16, 2026
Semi-finals: April 30 and May 7, 2026
Final: May 20, 2026 (Istanbul)
