UEL: Nottingham Forest Edge Midtjylland in Thrilling Europa League Shootout

Midtjylland fall to Forest in shootout heartbreak

Nottingham Forest beat Midtjylland 2-1 (4-3 on pens) in Europa League, with Ryan Yates scoring a stunning goal as Forest advance to quarter-finals.

The goal came from an unexpected source, as Ryan Yates isn't famed for his goalscoring prowess...

Nottingham Forest made a huge comeback, beating Midtjylland 2-1 in regular time and winning 3-0 on penalties to secure their spot in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. This ended Midtjylland's six-match winning European home streak.

Forest boss Vítor Pereira had made eight changes to his starting lineup, likely prioritizing their upcoming relegation-battle match against Tottenham this weekend. Despite the changes, Forest showed strong determination and managed to turn the tie around after losing the first leg 1-0.

The Liverpool side, looking a bit rotated, started brightly despite trailing 1-0 from the first leg. They showed early intent, with Dilane Bakwa creating a scare by rifling narrowly over from the edge of the area.

Bakwa was involved again, this time with a corner that Pedro Bravo inadvertently turned towards his own goal – luckily, Elias Olafsson was on the line to smother it.

Forest dominated possession in the first half, with their French winger Bakwa driving the attack. He came close to scoring with a shot that just sailed over, part of some neat buildup with Lorenzo Lucca.

Lucca also had his own chance, but ended up skying it after a good ball from Milenkovic. Bakwa was the standout performer for the visitors.

The visitors' pressure paid off when Milenkovic kept a deep delivery alive, and Nicolas Dominguez headed it into the far corner, leveling the aggregate score.

Forest kept pushing after the break and took the lead within 10 minutes of the restart. 

The goal came from an unexpected source, as Ryan Yates isn't famed for his goalscoring prowess. However, the left-footed rocket he hit from 25 yards, which nestled in the corner, was taken like someone who knows where the net is.

Midtjylland manager Mike Tullberg was apoplectic on the sidelines as his side were crumbling before his very eyes. But his mood improved a little over 20 minutes from time when a loose ball dropped favourably inside the area for Martin Erlic, and his left-footed volley found the top left corner.

The two sides traded late blows in a desperate bid to settle the tie in regulation time. Cho Gue-sung went close for the hosts, while Elliot Anderson forced Olafsson into a fine save at the other end, but neither could prevent extra time.

Lucca had the ball in the net within 30 seconds of the resumption after he was teed up by Ola Aina, only to be denied by the offside flag. With one of the last moves of extra time, Yates was denied his second goal of the evening when he headed home what looked like a late winner, only to be flagged offside seconds later.

The tie was still level after 210 minutes, so it was decided by penalties. Midtjylland had the advantage of shooting first in front of their fans, but they missed their first two penalties through Cho and Aral Simsir.

They never recovered from that, with Edward Chilufya missing their third penalty after a slip. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, converted all three of their penalties, sending them into the European quarter-finals for the first time in 30 years.