Ex-BVB coach Tullberg's Europa League hopes dashed after strong run | OneFootball

Mike Tullberg left Borussia Dortmund's second team in the summer when FC Midtjylland from his homeland Denmark made him an offer he couldn't refuse. So far, the season has gone quite well for Tullberg, even very well in the European Cup. But now his team has faced a bitter exit in the Europa League round of 16.

Mike Tullberg lost only one of eight matches in the league phase with his FC Midtjylland. Besides one draw, there were six victories. They defeated opponents like Premier League club Nottingham Forest away with 3:2, Celtic Glasgow with 3:1, and Dinamo Zagreb with 2:0. Only against AS Roma did they suffer a 1:2 defeat.

This great performance ultimately meant 3rd place in the overall table, thus skipping the playoff intermediate round. The draw brought Tullberg and his team Nottingham Forest as opponents again, whom they defeated away once more, this time with 1:0. However, in the return match, the English won 2:1, which was also the score after 120 minutes on Thursday at FC Midtjylland's MCH Arena.

Therefore, a penalty shootout had to determine who would advance to the quarter-finals of the Europa League 2025/26. And since Tullberg's players faltered three times from the spot, it was Nottingham Forest that reached the next round.

Photo: IMAGO

From BVB to the Europa League: Tullberg eliminated with Midtjylland

Initially, two players from his squad only hit the post during the penalty shootout. The third shooter slipped during the shot and sent the ball over the goal, as Reviersport reports. Since the Forest shooters did better, the penalty shootout ended 3:0 for Nottingham, and Tullberg's previously remarkable European Cup season came to an abrupt end.

At least the long-time U19 coach of BVB (2020 – 2025) still has two chances for titles. In the Danish Cup, FC Midtjylland reached the final in early March, which will be played against FC Copenhagen on May 14, 2026. And in the championship, his team is currently in 2nd place. They are four points behind Arhus GF, which is not impossible to catch up.

So perhaps, despite the bitter exit on Thursday, Mike Tullberg, who was also the interim coach of the BVB professionals last season, will still achieve a title in his first season as head coach with the seniors.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.