The final whistle brought a second of relief before the celebrations truly kicked in after Nottingham Forest secured a place in the Europa League semi-finals. It should have been easier but nothing is simple at the City Ground as they made hard work of overcoming Porto, who played almost the entire match with 10 men.
Morgan Gibbs-White settled the match, to set up an all English clash with Aston Villa for a place in the final. His goal came in the aftermath of Jan Bednarek’s early sending off and should have laid the foundations for more but Forest’s finishing was poor, forcing them to grind out the victory.
Where the Europa League sits in Forest’s list of priorities has fluctuated over the season but Vítor Pereira selected almost his strongest team, although Elliot Anderson was absent after the death of his mother, Helen. It was a sign of intent that this club wants to go all the way to Istanbul, even with the risk of Premier League relegation still a serious possibility.
As in the first leg, Porto started quicker, threatening Stefan Ortega’s goal after 60 seconds but the goalkeeper stood strong to repel a Terem Moffi jab when through on goal. If it had gone in, the City Ground would have been silenced but instead it was roaring, knowing the significant role the supporters could play.
