Emotional City Ground night as Nottingham Forest reach Europa League semi-finals | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest reached the Europa League semi-finals after a 1-0 win over Porto at the City Ground, sealing a 2-1 aggregate victory. Morgan Gibbs-White struck in the 12th minute on an emotional night on the Trent.

According to Nottingham Post, Vitor Pereira has fostered a strong sense of unity and this tie underlined it. Premier League rivals Aston Villa await in the last four and will be favourites.

Gibbs-White celebrated by lifting a shirt for Elliot Anderson, who missed out following the death of his mother, Helen. The message read, "Family first. We are all with you", and chants of "Geordie Maradona" rang around the ground.

Porto were reduced to 10 men when Jan Bednarek was sent off after a VAR review for a reckless challenge on Chris Wood. The visitors still hit the woodwork twice and pressed until the end. Forest were far from fluent but dug in.

Wood later went off, though he indicated he should be OK, with the blow on the knee opposite to his earlier surgery. Murillo also departed in the 72nd minute but early signs were positive. Callum Hudson-Odoi left on crutches and looked distraught.

This is Forest’s first European semi-final since 1984 and Pereira’s first City Ground win. The Reds are six unbeaten in all competitions and could yet dream of Istanbul. Attention now turns to a crucial Premier League meeting with Burnley on Sunday.

Source: Nottingham Post