On another thrilling City Ground night under the lights, Nottingham Forest made it nervy but managed to beat FC Porto 1-0 in the Europa League. The Reds now face a fourth semi-final in five years, with Aston Villa up next, one they look ready for under Vitor Pereira’s tutelage. George Edwards was at the match
It was a City Ground occasion that everybody just got.
Nottingham Forest have plenty to juggle right now: the lure of Europe and the grind of Premier League survival — a balance they have struggled to strike for large parts of the season.
Europe has frequently been second choice, and that has often shown, but last night — in their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto — they got it just right.
Manager Vitor Pereira got it right, tinkering with his most favoured XI but ensuring its core remained balanced and competitive, able to take the game to their two-time Champions League-winning opponents rather than just survive, as they did in the first leg.
The supporters got it right, rampantly chanting their troops home, scarves aloft and waving in the dying moments, as a generation saw something for the first time and another saw history repeat itself in nostalgic fashion.
The players got it right, albeit tantalisingly, getting the job done in 90 minutes to ensure they are ready to go again in the Premier League on Sunday against Burnley after etching themselves into Forest folklore.
And 45 miles up the road, Forest’s semi-final opponents Aston Villa breezed past Bologna to qualify, building on their first leg lead to win 7-1 on aggregate.
On the banks of the River Trent, things went almost immediately in Forest’s favour, a red card for Porto defender Jan Bednarek and a deflected Morgan Gibbs-White goal coming inside the first 12 minutes. But the easy way just isn’t the Nottingham Forest way, as, mirroring pretty much the whole of their European season so far, it went the distance.
Over the two legs Forest certainly rode their luck.
In the first, they scored nine minutes before their first shot courtesy of a Martim Fernandes own goal and had Stefan Ortega to thank for only letting one in, despite conceding an xG of 2.16.
Yesterday, while they dominated possession and territory throughout, Porto hit the woodwork twice and ought to have capitalised on Forest’s inability to score a second goal despite their pressure.
By the end it came down to desire, and it just felt like Forest wanted progression more. For every defensive lapse there was a dogged run to regain the ball. For every chance conceded, there was a push forward to make amends.
Forest’s performance wasn’t pretty or entirely convincing, but their character shone through, and that gritty personality is something that is beginning to define Vitor Pereira’s Forest.
He hasn’t got them playing a drastically different style to predecessor Sean Dyche. He has just found a way to give his players freedom to express, motivation to battle and has brought the whole squad on the journey with him.
Pereira’s only downside was the injuries sustained to Chris Wood, Murillo and Callum Hudson-Odoi, the trio all being replaced after receiving treatment. Post-match, Pereira hinted that Wood and Murillo’s substitutions were more precautionary than enforced, the club likely to protect Wood in particular given all that has been done to get him fit for the final period of the season.
The evening was also dedicated to midfielder Elliot Anderson, missing due to the death of his mother, Helen, this week. Gibbs-White’s tearful post-match interview with TNT Sports and the team’s united photo with a number 8 ‘Anderson’ shirt proved the squad’s current togetherness.
It’s yet another milestone ticked off on Forest’s resurrection, that began when Steve Cooper took charge four-and-a-half years ago. Forest are now into their fourth semi-final in five years, each one representing their steady ascent back to where they feel they belong.
They won the first, a Championship play-off with Sheffield United, paving the way for a promotion party at Wembley against Huddersfield.
In the next two they seemed distinctly out of place, crashing out of the 2023 Carabao Cup to Manchester United and the 2025 FA Cup to Manchester City. Despite the defeats, those moments still represented significant milestones in the Reds’ progression whilst reinstating how far they still had to go.
Despite their shaky form in the Premier League and ropey record at Villa Park, there’s a sense that Forest do truly belong in this European semi-final, their first for 42 years.
That’s not something that could have been said after their defeat at Braga, or their narrow progressions against Fenerbahçe and FC Midtjylland. But Forest have survived those moments, built from them, and now, with Pereira at the helm, are genuinely competing for the title with fire in their belly.
Villa won’t be easy, a side managed by a four-time Europa League winner in Unai Emery and whose priority looks firmly to be winning this competition, but it’s another big occasion, and Forest have a knack of rising to those occasions with everything they have.
Between now and then, they have two vital league matches against promoted duo Burnley and Sunderland, games that, should results go in their favour, could allow them to put Europe first by the time Villa arrive in Nottingham for the first leg.
The end of the season is never a dull time at Nottingham Forest – there’s always something to fight for. This time its two things: survival and silverware, and the possibility of achieving both feels real.
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