Stefan Ortega was on the bench as Nottingham Forest drew with Aston Villa, with Morgan Gibbs-White tasked with captaining the team.
Several changes were made to the Forest team for the game against Villa, and another 1-1 draw was secured after a share of the spoils with Porto on Thursday, too.
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Gibbs-White is very much the leader of the pack inside the Forest dressing room, and although he was substituted late in the game, he did try to get the team moving in the right direction.
FC Porto v Nottingham Forest FC - UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Quarter-Final First Leg
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What Stefan Ortega said about Morgan Gibbs-White after Forest draw
Ortega might have been disappointed to lose his place after playing extremely well against Porto in midweek, but he was supportive until the end on the bench.
Matz Sels made a number of strong saves during the draw to preserve a point for Forest, and it’s great that two top goalkeepers are now pushing each other.
After the game, Ortega took to Gibbs-White’s Instagram to praise the captain for his efforts, posting, ‘Yes Skip’ on his post, buzzing with what he described as an important point.
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Gibbs-White has been instrumental since the turn of the year, and it goes without saying that he will be hugely important when it comes to Forest staying up and progressing in Europe in the final stages of the season.
Clubs have been linked with Gibbs-White, and given his brilliance since he arrived at Forest, it’s perhaps surprising he’s not been picked up by anyone yet.
Forest will hope that remaining in the Premier League will lead to Gibbs-White staying on for another season, and he’s going to be so important between now and the end of the season.
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