Europa League – Nottingham Forest narrowly defeated 10-man Porto 1-0, advancing to the semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate score.

In the second leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League quarter-final, Nottingham Forest hosted Porto. Despite their opponents playing with ten men, they managed a narrow 1-0 victory, advancing to the semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate score.

Early in the first half, Nottingham Forest received a gift from Porto: in the 8th minute, Jan Bednarek was sent off with a straight red card after a VAR review for a foul on Chris Wood's shin. In the 12th minute, Neco Williams delivered a precise through ball, and Morgan Gibbs-White broke through before unleashing a long-range shot that deflected off Pablo Rosario and into the net. Forest took the lead thanks to White's crucial goal, putting them ahead 2-1 on aggregate.

Nottingham Forest launched a series of attacks afterward, but failed to extend their lead. In the 27th minute, Rosario made a clearance error in the penalty area, and Omari Hutchinson's follow-up shot only hit the side netting. In the 37th minute, Jair Cunha sent a back pass from the center of the penalty area, and Murillo's shot went slightly wide. In the 40th minute, Igor Jesus crossed from the edge of the penalty area to the right, and Hutchinson's long-range shot was easily saved by Diogo Costa. In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Dan Ndoye crossed from the left, and Nicolas Dominguez's header at the near post went wide of the right side.

In the 57th minute of the second half, Porto nearly equalized: Secco Fofana delivered a cross from the left flank, and Willian Gomez's shot at the far post hit the crossbar. In the 76th minute, Jesus received a pass from Dylane Bakva and took a shot, which was brilliantly saved by Costa. In the 83rd minute, Allan Barella unleashed a long-range shot from the edge of the box, which was again denied by the crossbar, and Porto once again missed a chance to pull one back. Neither side managed to score again, and the final score remained 1-0.

Image source: Internet/Nottingham Forest official website