Nottm Forest Vs Fenerbahçe: Who Feels the Impact After a Nervy Road to the Europa League Last 16

The night of the second leg left tangible winners and strained parties: Nottingham Forest secured progress to the Europa League last 16 but did so in a way that immediately reshaped priorities for players, staff and supporters. In the context of a side described as "struggling down in 17th" in the Premier League and with a crucial trip to Brighton on the horizon, the nottm forest vs fenerbahçe tie forced quick trade-offs between European ambition and league survival.

Who is affected and how the result changes the immediate picture

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s goal — his sixth of the season — provided the final margin that eased a late scare and handed Forest passage to the last 16. The progress lifts European hopes, but Vitor Pereira’s rotation strategy and the club’s low Premier League standing make clear who will feel the impact most: starting players spared legs, substitutes thrust into high-pressure moments, and fans balancing relief with anxiety about the domestic run-in. Pereira had made six changes after a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool and explicitly framed selections with the upcoming Brighton match in mind, stressing recovery and energy for the league as part of his calculation.

Nottm Forest Vs Fenerbahçe — match dynamics and turning points

The tie’s narrative was shaped across two legs: Forest’s 3-0 first-leg win in Istanbul left them with a cushion, but the second leg at the City Ground turned nervy. Kerem Akturkoglu opened the scoring on 22 minutes with a goal from a break and then converted a second-half penalty seconds after the restart — the spot-kick followed when Jair Cunha tripped Akturkoglu and a VAR check upheld the decision. That double briefly brought the aggregate score to a level that heightened anxiety for the home side.

After 45 minutes the game had seen no shots on target, high turnovers and losing duels; Pereira responded by making four halftime changes, withdrawing James McAtee and Ryan Yates and bringing on Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus, Ola Aina and Ibrahim Sangare. Hudson-Odoi’s low finish 22 minutes from the end restored a two-goal cushion on aggregate, and late in the game Omari Hutchinson broke clean through but was denied by Tarik Cetin.

On the night Forest lost 2-1 but still won the tie 4-2 on aggregate; the visiting team’s second goal was a penalty and the striker involved completed a brace.

Match incidents beyond the goals that mattered

• A 3-minute delay happened moments after kickoff when sections of a 1, 500-strong away end launched several fireworks onto the pitch; players including Jair Cunha and Neco Williams had to take evasive action while Fenerbahçe’s Archie Brown removed some pyrotechnics and urged calm.
• Substitutes shifted the game: Aina’s swinging cross found Hudson-Odoi, who then beat a defender to score his first European goal of the season for Forest.
• Forest’s opening-leg dominance in Istanbul was decisive in allowing them to absorb the second-leg pressure and still progress.

What comes next and contextual ties across competitions

Forest will be drawn into the last-16 against either FC Midtjylland or Real Betis. Both opponents were part of Forest’s earlier league-phase fixtures: the team lost at home to Midtjylland and earned a draw in Spain against Real Betis under the club’s previous manager. Pereira framed Europa League ambition as genuine while warning that league points are critical to avoid a difficult situation.

• Key immediate signals: progress to the last 16 and a congested schedule that prompted six changes to the starting XI; selection choices were made with the Brighton league match in mind.
• Player-level consequences: Hudson-Odoi’s return as a half-time substitute and match-winner, Jair Cunha’s involvement in the penalty incident, and late saves that kept the scoreline from swinging further.
• Fan and security angle: the fireworks episode produced a short delay and required intervention from players on the visiting team.

Here’s the part that matters: the first-leg 3-0 win in Istanbul ultimately defined this tie — it allowed Forest to absorb the scare at the City Ground and move on despite a disjointed home showing.

Other European outcomes from the same night

Elsewhere in Europe, Crystal Palace progressed in their competition after a 2-0 second-leg win that made it 3-1 on aggregate, with Maxence Lacroix opening the scoring at Selhurst Park and January signing Evann Guessand sealing the tie. Scottish champions Celtic won 1-0 in Stuttgart but were eliminated from the Europa League after a 4-1 home defeat in the first leg left the tie beyond recovery.

What’s easy to miss is how much that opening-leg rout in Istanbul allowed Forest to treat the second match as damage control rather than a must-win — a small margin that produced a big season impact for a club balancing European rounds with league survival pressures.

Micro timeline:
• First leg: Forest won 3-0 in Istanbul.
• Second leg (City Ground): Akturkoglu 22' opened the scoring; penalty scored seconds after the restart; Hudson-Odoi scored 68' to settle the tie 4-2 on aggregate.
• Next: Forest await a last-16 opponent — Real Betis or FC Midtjylland — while preparing for the upcoming Brighton league match.