Nottingham Forest’s return to European competition at the City Ground ended in disappointment as FC Midtjylland edged a pulsating 3-2 victory. The game was filled with set-piece woes for Forest and moments of quality from the visitors that proved decisive in face of goal.
Midtjylland struck in the 18th minute through Ousmane Diao, exploiting Forest’s slack defence from a corner. Dan Ndoye pulled one back later in the first half to level the game, but Midtjylland regained the lead almost immediately through Mads Bech Sørensen.
The second half saw Forest push hard for an equalizer. Chris Wood converted a late penalty, giving the home crowd a glimmer of hope. However, Midtjylland held on, showing composure under pressure. Forest’s defensive weakness at set pieces once again cost them, while the visitors made the most of their chances.
Forest vs Midtjylland lineups
Nottingham Forest: Matz Sels; Morato, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Neco Williams; Ibrahim Sangaré, Elliot Anderson; Callum Hudson-Odoi, Morgan Gibbs-White, Dan Ndoye; Igor Jesus (Chris Wood came on).
Midtjylland: Elias Ólafsson; Kevin Mbabu, Mads Bech Sørensen, Ousmane Diao; Philip Billing, Denil Castillo; Viktor Bak, Aral Simsir; Cho Gue-Sung, Júnior Brumado; Valdemar Byskov (substitutes used in late stages).
Up Next
Forest will look to bounce back domestically in the Premier League as the face New Castle, while in Europe they need to regroup for their next group stage fixture. Midtjylland, motivated by the win, will aim to maintain this form and solidify their position in the group.
