Nottingham Forest: ‘Really poor’ Braga goal ‘nowhere near good enough’ – Dyche

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has criticised his side’s reaction to missing a penalty at Braga and said he is “working” on bringing players in before the transfer window closes at the end of January.

Morgan Gibbs-White’s spot kick was saved seconds before Ryan Yates scored a 54th-minute own goal to give the Portuguese side a 1-0 victory and leave Forest facing the prospect of the knockout phase play-offs.

“We missed a penalty – that can happen – but the reaction was nowhere near good enough for the next minute or so,” Dyche told TNT Sports.

“We lost the game to a really poor goal. One minute of madness really cost us the game. We lose our shape, go chasing the ball, don’t get a tackle in, don’t deal with it and don’t react quickly enough – all those little habits.”

Gibbs White sees his penalty saved by Horníček 🧤

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 22, 2026

Braga vs Nottingham Forest: Europa League defeat

Ola Aina struck the woodwork for Forest from distance shortly after the goal and former Barcelona forward Pau Victor then followed suit for Braga, who did not unduly trouble goalkeeper Matz Sels.

“They get a lift, the crowd go mad and all that sort of stuff,” Dyche added of Lukas Hornicek’s penalty save. “We knock off for a minute, go chasing the ball and don’t deal with it.”

Forest’s Elliot Anderson was dismissed during second-half added time for apparent dissent, but Dyche is hoping to boost his squad while the window remains open.

“We’re certainly working on it,” said Dyche, whose fourth-bottom team are five points clear of danger in the top flight. “The club know; they’re aware and can see the situation. We’ll see.”

In the blink of an eye Nottingham Forest miss a penalty and Braga take the lead through a Yates own goal ⚽️

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 22, 2026

Nottingham Forest team vs Braga

Forest made seven changes from their 0-0 home draw with Arsenal, including the return of Yates from injury in midfield.

Nottingham Forest starting XI: Matz Sels, Nicolo Savona, Nikola Milenkovic, Morato, Ola Aina, Dilane Bakwa, Ryan Yates, Douglas Luiz, James McAtee, Dan Ndoye, Morgan Gibbs-White

Forest substitutes: Angus Gunn, Neco Williams, Ibrahim Sangare, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Elliot Anderson, Nicolas Dominguez, Zach Abbott, Archie Whitehall, Jack Thompson, Jimmy Sinclair, Ben Hammond, Keehan Willows

Braga vs Nottingham Forest stats

• This was the first ever meeting between Sporting Braga and Nottingham Forest
• Braga’s three most recent Europa League games against English teams had produced 16 goals, with two 3-3 draws against Wolves and Leicester and a 4-0 defeat to the Foxes
• Including qualifiers, Braga have won 11 of their last 14 European matches (D2 L1)
• They have kept 10 clean sheets along the way
• Ricardo Horta made his 50th Europa League start and has 13 assists overall in the competition, with only four players having more
• A total of 10 wins in all European competition in 2025/26 is their most in a season, eclipsing their nine victories in 2010/11
• Forest’s only previous European match against a Portuguese side came on Matchday 3 this season, beating Porto 2-0 at home in Sean Dyche’s first game as manager
• They had won three of their four Europa League games under Dyche (D1), making him one of only two English managers with three wins in their first four games in the competition, along with Gary Neville in 2016 with Valencia
• No Englishman has won four of his first five in the Europa League

Nottingham Forest Europa League squad 2025/26

Forest’s List A Europa League squad has been registered until the round of 16 in February 2026, when clubs can add a maximum of three new players within the existing limit of 25.

Goalkeepers: Matz Sels, John Victor

Defenders: Oleksandr Zinchenko, Neco Williams, Willy Boly, Nikola Milenkovic, Morato, Murillo, Nicolo Savona

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Nicolas Dominguez, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ibrahim Sangare, Ryan Yates

Forwards: Dilane Bakwa, Igor Jesus, Arnaud Kalimuendo, Douglas Luiz, James McAtee, Dan Ndoye, Chris Wood

List B submissions, comprised of players born after January 1, 2004 who have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday, can also be made until midnight before each match.

Nottingham Forest Europa League schedule 2025/26

In a change from the previous group stage held until 2023/24, each team now plays eight matches in the league phase, all against different opponents.

The top eight sides in the table qualify automatically for the round of 16. The teams finishing in ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to reach the last 16.

Teams finishing 25th or lower are out of Europe for the season.

Knockout phase play-offs: February 17/18 & 24/25 2026

Round of 16: March 10/11 & 17/18 2026

Quarter-finals: April 7/8 & 14/15 2026

Semi-finals: April 28/29 and May 5/6 2026

Final: May 30 2026

When are the Europa League draws?

Knockout phase play-offs: January 30 2026

Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final, and final: February 27 2026

Which English clubs are in the Europa League 2025/26?

Forest’s participation comes after they were promoted from the Conference League because of a UEFA ruling against FA Cup winners Crystal Palace, upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Aston Villa qualified by finishing sixth in 2024/25, although they would have been in the Champions League had they not lost at Manchester United on the final day.

When is the Europa League final?

The final will take place on May 20 2025 at the Besiktas Stadium home of 16-time Turkish champions Besiktas.

The stadium hosted a dramatic 2019 Super Cup final, Chelsea and Liverpool each scoring once during regular and extra time before the Reds won on penalties following the 2-2 draw.