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Nottingham Forest reached the last eight of the Europa League by beating FC Midtjylland on penalties.
Nicolas Dominguez and Ryan Yates scored to put Forest in the lead after last week’s 1-0 reverse at the City Ground, with Martin Erlic levelling the tie once again.
Who was your Man of the Match from the second leg win over FC Midtjylland?
Penalties saw Forest dominate with Vitor Pereira’s team scoring all three of their spot kicks, with Midtjylland failing to even trouble Stefan Ortega with any of theirs.
A number of players produced the goods against Midtjylland, and for one player in particular, a strong performance had been a long time coming.
Photo by Joern Pollex – UEFA/UEFA via Getty ImagesDilane Bakwa produces best Forest display vs Midtjylland
The winger was handed a rare start by Pereira, and he asked him to play in an unfamiliar position as a wing-back, which he thrived in.
Bakwa was given freedom to get more time on the ball, and he wasn’t afraid to attack his man when given the opportunity to do so.
How good was Dilane Bakwa vs FC Midtjylland?
His delivery into the box for Nikola Milenkovic to set up Dominguez for Forest’s first goal was simply outstanding and deserves praise.
WhoScored shows that Bakwa completed 85.7% of his passes on the night, and the 46 touches he had were the most he’s had in any game he’s played for Forest this season.
Bakwa also completed three dribbles, the most of any Forest player and completed the most accurate crosses of any Reds star too.
There will now be genuine belief that Bakwa can kick on under Pereira and it’s perhaps not surprising that his game has gone to another level since the Portuguese performer replaced Sean Dyche.
Dilane Bakwa was wanted by Vitor Pereira at Wolves
It’s perhaps unsurprising that Bakwa has not only got more minutes under Pereira but also started to show some flashes of promise under the Forest head coach.
Bakwa was handed a very rare start against Midtjylland last night, and he didn’t disappoint, playing extremely well before being substituted in the 74th minute with severe cramp.
The French youngster showed some really nice touches, and unlike when his confidence was knocked out of him by Dyche, he wasn’t actually afraid to take his man on.
🥀🥀🥀 KADERİN CİLVESİ:
👀 Vitor Pereira’nın geçen yaz Wolves’ta çalışırken sızan scout transfer listesinde Aral Şimşir de yer alıyordu. #wwfc #Wolves
🥵 Ve aylar sonra bugün o Aral’ın kaçırdığı penaltı sayesinde Vitor’un takımı Nottingham Forest, tur atlayan takım oldu. #NFFC pic.twitter.com/SixnCkRsS1
— As Marca (@asmarcatr) March 19, 2026
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When Pereira was at Wolves, his squad plan was leaked on social media and in the left-wing spot was Bakwa, who was strutting his stuff for Strasbourg at the time.
Of course, Wolves didn’t sign Bakwa for Pereira, and he ended up moving to Forest, where the pair have now finally teamed up, with the gem likely to benefit from a head coach who can see the potential in him as a footballer.
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