Nottingham Forest 0-1 FC Midjtylland: Report, result and goals as Tricky Trees stumble

Nottingham Forest suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat against FC Midtjylland at the City Ground in their Europa League last-16 first leg.

The hosts started brightly and nearly found themselves behind inside the opening minutes when Junior Brumado met a cross from Philip Billing and sent a header towards goal, only for Murillo to clear off the line and keep Forest level.

Forest responded quickly and began to apply pressure. Omari Hutchinson forced a strong save from Elias Olafsson with a powerful effort from distance, while Ola Aina later tested the goalkeeper with a low drive after breaking forward on the counter.

The Danish side remained organised defensively and continued to pose a threat from set pieces. Aral Simsir delivered a dangerous free-kick midway through the half that flashed across the face of goal without a touch.

Forest’s best opportunity of the first half came shortly before the break. Hutchinson slid a pass into the penalty area for Morgan Gibbs-White, whose close-range effort looked destined for the corner until Midtjylland captain Mads Bech managed to divert the ball behind for a corner.

Forest pressure after the break

The home side continued to push forward after the restart. Nicolas Domínguez fired narrowly wide from the edge of the area early in the second half, while Callum Hudson-Odoi curled a shot just past the post after cutting inside from the left.

Forest kept probing as Elliot Anderson forced another save from Olafsson, and the goalkeeper was again called into action when Igor Jesus directed a tame header towards goal following a deflected Hutchinson shot.

Midtjylland briefly threatened at the other end when substitute Valdemar Byskov struck the crossbar with a powerful effort after testing Matz Sels moments earlier.

The breakthrough arrived ten minutes from time. Ousmane Diao delivered a looping cross into the penalty area and Gue-Sung Cho peeled away from his marker before heading the ball down into the bottom corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Forest pushed forward in search of an equaliser during the closing stages. Lorenzo Lucca saw a header comfortably saved by Olafsson, while Forest continued to create pressure with crosses and corners.

However, despite finishing the match with 21 attempts on goal, the home side could not find a breakthrough.

The result leaves Forest facing a difficult task in the second leg in Denmark next week, especially with Midtjylland still unbeaten at home in all competitions this season.