Nottingham Forest survive Fenerbahce fightback to reach Europa League last 16

Nervy Nottingham Forest edged past Fenerbahce to reach the last 16 of the Europa League according to BBC.

Kerem Akturkoglu’s double, including a second-half penalty, put the hosts in danger of blowing their 3-0 first-leg lead.

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s strike eased fears of complete collapse as Vitor Pereira’s side progressed despite a sloppy and tentative performance.

They will face FC Midtjylland, who beat them in October to spark Ange Postecoglou’s downfall, or Real Betis – against whom Forest drew 2-2 in Spain during the league phase.

Yet it was far from straightforward after Forest were caught on the break on 22 minutes, allowing Akturkoglu to fire in.

It put the City Ground on edge and, although Elliot Anderson shot wide, the hosts struggled to recover.

Pereira made four changes at the break, including withdrawing the ineffective James McAtee and Ryan Yates, but Jair Cunha conceded a penalty 25 seconds after the restart when he tripped Akturkoglu.

The striker converted the spot-kick to raise the anxiety levels, until Hudson-Odoi – one of the half-time substitutes – made it 4-2 on aggregate with a low finish 22 minutes from the end.

Omari Hutchinson could have made it 2-2 on the night but was denied by Tarik Cetin after running clean through late on.

Given the theatrics of Nottingham Forest’s season, it was not a surprise Fenerbahce made things uncomfortable.

With the visitors in the middle of an injury crisis, missing goalkeeper Ederson and only able to name seven substitutes, it should have been a routine evening.

Yet Forest were sloppy and should have been further behind at the break as even the consistent Anderson had an off night.

It looked as if head coach Pereira would have the luxury of resting Morgan Gibbs-White, Nikola Milenkovic and Hudson-Odoi after last week’s 3-0 win in Turkey gave them enough of a cushion to progress.

But he needed to call on all three to ensure Forest reached the last 16 and win their first European knockout game for 30 years.

Pereira would have learned about the mental fragility of his Forest players, crucial as they continue their relegation battle in the Premier League.

Progress at least aids the momentum under Pereira, who is only two weeks into his reign, with Forest still in deep trouble domestically.

They are only two points above the relegation zone with 11 games left – one of the reasons Pereira was parachuted in to replace Sean Dyche this month – and so any energy from the Europa League is welcome.