Forest beat 10-man Porto to reach first European semi-final in 42 yearspublished at 08:04 BST
08:04 BST
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Porto (2-1 on agg)
Image source, Getty Images
Nottingham Forest beat 10-man Porto to advance to the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time since 1984, where they will face Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
Porto had failed to win any of their previous 24 matches on English soil, including a 2-0 defeat to Forest in October.
The task became even tougher for the Portuguese side when Jan Bednarek was sent off after just eight minutes for a high challenge on Chris Wood.
Referee Danny Makkelie had initially decided against booking the former Southampton and Aston Villa defender before the video assistant referee recommended an on-field review.
From that moment, Forest – who have used this competition as a welcome escape from their struggles in the Premier League this season – stepped up the pressure and took the lead through Morgan Gibbs-White four minutes later.
The England midfielder latched onto a pass from Neco Williams before firing past Diogo Costa, with his strike taking a deflection off Pablo Rosario, who was deputising at the heart of defence following Bednarek’s dismissal.
The only downside of a magical night for Forest came shortly after the 15-minute mark as Wood – who made his return from a six-month lay-off in last week’s first leg – was unable to continue after the earlier challenge from Bednarek.
Late injuries to Murillo and substitute Callum Hudson‑Odoi threatened to take the wind out of Forest’s sails, but Pereira’s side held on to win at the City Ground for the first time since January and extend their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions.