Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with Porto in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final
22:44, 09 Apr 2026Updated 22:46, 09 Apr 2026
Igor Jesus of Nottingham Forest scores a goal, which is later disallowed
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Igor Jesus of Nottingham Forest scores a goal, which is later disallowed
Head coach Vitor Pereira was tight-lipped on the disallowed goal that denied Nottingham Forest a Europa League quarter-final first leg win over Porto.
The Reds will take a 1-1 draw back to the City Ground for next week’s decisive return fixture with their Portuguese opponents. A Martim Fernandes own goal two minutes after William Gomes’s opener for the hosts in the first leg means there is still all to play for between the two sides.
Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega kept Forest in the tie with some excellent saves, but the visitors thought they were going to return to Trentside with the advantage. Substitute Igor Jesus had the ball in the back of the net in the second half, only for his goal to be disallowed for handball following a VAR check.
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Asked about the disallowed goal, Pereira said simply: "It is better to keep the opinion with me."
On his return to his former club, the Portuguese was pleased with his team’s result. Pereira is having to balance the Reds’ quest for European glory with the need to secure Premier League survival - and that was reflected in his selection decisions.
Pereira made nine changes to Forest’s starting line-up from their triumph over Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break. He was keen to share out the minutes, with Sunday’s huge league clash against Aston Villa in mind.
"The first two subs we did (taking off Chris Wood and Murillo at half-time) I was thinking about the next game against Villa,” he told TNT Sports. “It's very important for us to get points in the league and this is the only way."
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He added: "A good result, in my opinion. To face two competitions we need to play with everyone. The players that started today did good work. In the end, 1-1, the game is open to play at home and decide qualification.
"Porto playing at home are a strong team. They have momentum with supporters. With Forest I try to balance the two competitions; it was very clear, we played with nine different players to the last game.
“I think we did well. The players tried everything; 1-1 is a good result and playing at home we will see what we can do."
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