Nottm Forest Vs Fenerbahçe — nottm forest vs fenerbahçe: Nervy Forest reach Europa League last 16
In a tense second leg at the City Ground, nottm forest vs fenerbahçe ended 1-2 on the night but 4-2 on aggregate, with Callum Hudson-Odoi's goal proving decisive as Nottingham Forest progressed to the Europa League last 16. The tie mattered for Nottingham Forest's congested schedule and domestic position, with Vitor Pereira making selection decisions with a Premier League trip to Brighton in mind.
Pereira's selection gamble and the Brighton fixture
Vitor Pereira said "We move forward - I'm happy, we played under pressure. It was like a thriller - with suspense, " after making six changes following Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool because he had the Brighton game on Sunday in mind. He added: "I decided to take this risk [of six changes] because I need to think about the Brighton game [on Sunday], it is very important for us. We need to go there with fuel and energy. My decisions were not just about this game. " Pereira also said "We have ambition in the Europa League, it is to move forward to the next stage. We are not comfortable in the table in the Premier League and this is very important for us, to get the points to avoid a difficult situation. "
Nottm Forest Vs Fenerbahçe: Akturkoglu double and penalty drama
Fenerbahçe's Kerem Akturkoglu scored a double that put the visitors in position to overturn Forest's 3-0 first-leg lead. Forest were caught on the break on 22 minutes, allowing Akturkoglu to fire in, and 25 seconds after the restart Jair Cunha conceded a penalty when he tripped Akturkoglu; the striker converted the spot-kick. The penalty was described as being awarded in the first minute of the second half, and it briefly left the tie poised as a potential comeback for the Turkish side.
Key moments: substitutes, the assist and Hudson-Odoi's decisive strike
Callum Hudson-Odoi was called off the bench and his 68th-minute strike — described as a low finish 22 minutes from the end — made it 4-2 on aggregate and eased fears of a complete collapse. Ola Aina, one of the half-time changes, found space to deliver a ball to the far post for Hudson-Odoi, who drove a shot inside the far post for what was described as the most important goal of the night. Hudson-Odoi's goal was also noted as his sixth of the season. Pereira made four changes at the break, introducing a quartet of senior players, and one of those substitutes helped turn the tie back in Forest's favour.
Late chances, saves and the directors' box reaction
Omari Hutchinson could have made it 2-2 on the night but was denied by Tarik Cetin after running clean through late on; Igor Jesus and Hutchinson both came close to scoring more goals. Elliot Anderson went close earlier when he shot wide. After Hudson-Odoi's goal, television cameras panned to the directors' box where Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was seen crossing his chest in a gesture of relief.
What progress means: opponents, squad questions and season strain
Forest now progress to the Europa League last 16 and will face either FC Midtjylland, who beat them in October and whose win was said to have sparked Ange Postecoglou's downfall, or Real Betis, against whom Forest drew 2-2 in Spain during the league phase. Commentators and the manager highlighted the difficulty of juggling European progress with domestic priorities: Pereira must find a way to combine the challenge of plotting a course away from the threat of relegation and earning a place in the quarter-finals in Europe, and more immediately "he must find a way to juggle his resources to cope with the demands of two top-flight games in four days. "
Club history, prior experiments and transfer spending
Previous managerial experiments were invoked in the post-match commentary: Pereira learned a lesson described as familiar to Sean Dyche and Ange Postecoglou about Forest being diminished without key figures. It was noted that Postecoglou had given fringe players opportunities in September at Swansea City in the Carabao Cup and that Forest had been knocked out in south Wales; Dyche later shuffled his pack in north Wales and Forest were dumped out of the FA Cup by Wrexham. Forest's summer spending was recorded as an investment of £200million ($269. 9m) on 13 new additions intended to give the club capability to field two different teams, but the continuation of that point was cut off in the provided context and is unclear in the provided context.
Fenerbahçe reaction from Tedesco and the visiting view
Fenerbahçe coach Domenico Tedesco said: "We are proud of the way we played, with personality and belief. " He added: "At home, we lost the qualification, they changed the coach a few days before which changes things, they overperformed in our stadium, we underperformed. We have to accept we are out of the competition but at least with our heads up. " The theatrics of Nottingham Forest's season were cited as making it unsurprising that Fenerbahçe were able to make the tie uncomfortable.
