Nottingham Forest’s Europa League ride ends at Villa, but journey reshapes the club | OneFootball

After travelling more than 12,000 miles, Nottingham Forest’s Europa League odyssey ended in the West Midlands, a 4-0 second-leg defeat at Aston Villa halting their semi-final charge. The ride was painful at the finish, yet stirring all the same.

Depleted by injuries and without Morgan Gibbs-White, Vitor Pereira’s side could not summon the bravery that underpinned a 10-match unbeaten run. Nottingham Post notes that this campaign still merits pride for how far the club have come.

It began in Seville, with Nuno Espirito Santo making the draw and Ange Postecoglou starting the campaign. Forest led Real Betis 2-1 at half-time, then lost 3-2 to Midtjylland. Sean Dyche’s debut brought a 2-0 win over Porto, followed by 0-0 at Sturm Graz, wins against Malmo and at Utrecht, a downpour and defeat at Braga, then 4-0 over Ferencvaros, which still meant the play-offs.

On to Türkiye, and another change. Pereira’s first match brought a commanding 3-0 win at Fenerbahce in Istanbul, a 2-1 reverse in the return not enough to undo the job.

Midtjylland then won 1-0 at the City Ground, only for Forest to turn the tie in Herning and progress on penalties after 2-2 on aggregate. Porto were professionally handled in the quarter-finals. Against Villa, Chris Wood’s penalty established a first-leg lead, but the return proved a step too far.

After three decades away from Europe, Forest returned at last. They hope to be back soon, wiser and stronger for the experience.

Source: Nottingham Post