Nottingham Forest scraped through to the Europa League last 16 despite a 2-1 home defeat by Fenerbahce on Thursday, advancing 4-2 on aggregate after a nervy second leg at the City Ground.
Vítor Pereira had been able to rotate his side after a 3-0 first-leg win in Istanbul, but the two teams produced very different displays in Nottingham. Forest struggled in the first half, with no shots on target, high turnover rates and lost duels. Fenerbahce punished a sloppy spell in the 22nd minute when Kerem Aktürkoglu finished a swift move to give the visitors the lead and hope of overturning the tie.
The game was briefly stopped seconds after kick-off when sections of the away following — reported to be around 1,500 supporters — threw fireworks onto the pitch inside Forest’s penalty area. Play was delayed for about three minutes as players, including Jair Cunha and Neco Williams, dodged pyrotechnics; Fenerbahce’s Archie Brown helped clear some of the devices and appealed for calm.
Pereira made four changes at half-time — bringing on Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus, Ola Aina and Ibrahim Sangaré — describing the substitutions as a difficult but necessary gamble with an important Premier League match to come. His decision to rotate the squad earlier in the tie drew his explanation afterwards: “When you change half of a team, it’s not easy to keep the level, that’s my responsibility… It was a risk because I decided to make six changes in the team… It was difficult for me to do four subs at half-time, but I said to the players it’s my decision.” He added that heavy rotation can unsettle a side under pressure, but managing resources ahead of the Brighton game was a priority.
The second half began disastrously for Forest when Jair Cunha fouled Aktürkoglu in the box. A VAR review upheld the penalty and Aktürkoglu calmly struck his second of the night to make it 2-0 on the night and threaten Forest’s aggregate advantage.
Forest improved after the substitutions. The momentum shifted when Ola Aina delivered a swinging cross from the right and Callum Hudson-Odoi darted past his marker to drive a composed finish into the far corner — his first European goal of the season. The strike relieved the home crowd and, crucially, ended Fenerbahce’s comeback hopes, confirming Forest’s place in the last 16.
Team news: only five players who started Forest’s weekend defeat to Liverpool were retained in the XI — goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, Murillo, Neco Williams, Elliot Anderson and Omari Hutchinson. Fenerbahce were hampered by injuries and named just five outfield players on their bench, with notable absences such as Ederson and Milan Škriniar.
Hudson-Odoi reflected on the match: “We made it difficult for ourselves. When you’re in the lead you can feel a bit comfortable, but we showed a great reaction after they scored the second goal… When we got the goal, it gave us more breathing space to attack more. No matter who comes, we’re going to be prepared and ready for the game.” Pereira stressed the balance he had to strike between maintaining performance and managing player fatigue ahead of domestic fixtures.
Additional notes: this is the first time Nottingham Forest have suffered two home defeats in a single major European season (they also lost 2-3 to FC Midtjylland in October). For Fenerbahce, the result was only their second European away victory in England across all competitions (D2 L7), their first such win since beating Manchester United 1-0 in the Champions League in October 1996.
Europa League schedule:
– Round of 16 draw: 27 February, 12:00
– Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026
– Quarter-finals: 9 & 16 April 2026
– Semi-finals: 30 April & 7 May 2026
– Final: 20 May 2026 (Istanbul)