Forest and Palace Scrape Through Europa Drama: Penos, Reds and Last-Gasp Heroes!
Nottingham Forest overcame a 1-0 deficit to beat Midtjylland on penalties in the Europa League last-16 second leg, thanks to misses from the Danes and cool heads from Gibbs-White, Sangare and Williams. Crystal Palace edged AEK Larnaca in the Conference League via Ismaila Sarr's brace after a red card, despite a late VAR drama. Both sides advance to quarters but must sharpen up to go deeper.
Forest and Palace Survive Euro Scarefests
Picture this: Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira talking a big game about balancing Premier League survival with Europa League glory. Then he drops nine changes for the second leg against Midtjylland, trailing 1-0 from the first leg. With Spurs looming in the league, it screamed priorities, mate – but those benchwarmers turned it into a proper party.
Forest had bossed the first leg but fluffed their lines up top, a recurring nightmare that's haunted their season. Facing a raucous Danish crowd, they silenced it early, dominating without the killer touch. Lorenzo Lucca somehow missed a sitter, James McAtee pinged the bar, but just before half-time, Nicolas Dominguez looped a beauty of a header in. Game on!
Forest's Penalty Lottery in Denmark
Midtjylland panicked at the break, subbing twice, but it did sod all. Enter Ryan Yates, who smashed a belter from 25 yards to flip the tie 2-1 on aggregate. Forest were cruising, or so we thought – a late Yates goal chalked off sent it to pens.
Cue chaos: the Danes ballooned all three spot-kicks (two posts, one skyward), while Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Neco Williams stayed cool. Forest into the quarters! If they'd buried half their 30+ chances across the tie, this would've been a stroll. Pereira's gambit paid off, giving the squad depth a proper run-out.
Meanwhile, over in the Europa Conference League, Crystal Palace were mirroring the madness against AEK Larnaca. Oliver Glasner's lot, still smarting from a rotten season post-FA Cup glory, started sharp. Ismaila Sarr – on fire with four Conference goals – slotted a cheeky finish after Adam Wharton's clever reverse pass deflected kindly. 1-0 on the night, tie level.
Palace's Red Card Rollercoaster
But AEK hit back quick, levelling and forcing extra time. Palace, who'd been pegged as cruise-control candidates after last season's Man City upset, have had a term to forget: Marc Guehi's sale, Jean-Philippe Mateta drama, Glasner's messy exit. Nothing comes easy for the Eagles.
They bossed it though – 70% possession, 25+ shots. Enric Saborit saw red with 20 left, and Sarr swept home from a corner for 2-1. A late VAR penalty scare and another AEK red sealed it. Palace march on, hanging their hat on Sarr's magic.
Both sides bucked the trend of English clubs flopping in Europe knockouts. Forest and Palace looked primed while others wobbled. But here's the rub: against bigger fish in the quarters, that blunt finishing will bite hard. Forest's wastefulness and Palace's chaos won't cut it forever.
Pereira's rotation worked a treat this time, but with relegation scraps ahead, can they keep the dream alive? Palace need Sarr to carry them further amid the wreckage. English Europa hopes flicker on – just don't bet the house on smooth sailing.