Even though the game ended in defeat, Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce saw the Reds progress through to the UEFA Europa League Round of 16.
After a positive 3-0 away win in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Play-Offs, Forest looked to get a routine result to calmly progress through to the Round of 16.
However, the evening transpired to be anything but that as Kerem Akturkoglu’s double had the hosts in trouble.
After a half-time switch, Ola Aina and Callum Hudson-Odoi gave Forest their mojo back as the latter was supplied for the former to restore a two-goal lead on aggregate, and they were able to hold on to book their place in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16.
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce: Forest’s Substitutes Combine To Down Fenerbahce Despite Akturkoglu’s Double
In a lively start, the game was stopped momentarily after the Fenerbache fans set off flares from their stand behind the Forest goal, and the hosts looked to pose the first threat as an inviting Omari Hutchinson cross evaded everyone in red.
Again, the Tricky Trees drove forward as Elliot Anderson jinked his way into the box and squared the ball across the face of goal, but once more, no one managed to get on the end of the delivery.
Fenerbahce’s first chance came down their right side as Dorgeles Nene put a dangerous low cross into the box.
Kerem Akturkoglu latched onto the end of the cross, but Morato was there to make a good block and deny the goalscoring opportunity.
On the counterattack, Sidiki Cherif drove forward before passing it to Akturkoglu, who steadied himself and fired the ball past Stefan Ortega to reduce the deficit for Fenerbahce.
Forest looked to fire back immediately as Hutchinson slipped a pass through to Anderson, who cut inside and whipped a vicious effort towards the bottom corner; however, his effort was narrowly wide of the post.
When Fenerbahce got forward, they looked dangerous in the wide areas as Cherif and Archie Brown used their pace and trickery to create openings for the visitors, who looked to score and flip the tie on its head.
A sloppy pass from Anderson saw Cherif get on the ball inside the Forest box, but instead of finding his teammates, the forward went for goal as his shot hit the side netting.
Loose in possession once more, Forest handed a golden chance for Fenerbahce on the counter, but fortunately for the hosts, Akturkoglu failed to hit the target with his effort.
In added time, the visitors had another chance as Akturkoglu backheeled the ball to Cherif, who fired goalwards, but Ortega was equal to it by making a key save.
Fenerbahce got the perfect start in the second half as they won a penalty following Jair Cunha’s foul on Akturkoglu.
The forward stepped up and slotted the ball into the bottom corner as he grabbed his second of the evening.
Similar to when they went 1-0 down, Forest looked to hit back once again as Cunha got forward and struck an effort goalward, which was saved by Tarik Cetin, as the follow-up from Nicolas Dominguez was wide of the target.
Forest continued to knock on the door as they had another shot, this time from Neco Williams, but his effort was off target.
The Reds reduced the deficit on the night as two substitutes combined. A brilliant Ola Aina cross was touched down by Callum Hudson-Odoi, who fired a low effort into the bottom corner.
Hudson-Odoi had a chance of grabbing a second as he curled an effort goalwards, which whistled agonisingly wide of the target.
Fenerbahce kept on looking to once again find their way back into the tie, but as the time ticked on, Forest held on firm and ran out 4-2 winners on aggregate.
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Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce: Hudson-Odoi’s First Europa League Goal Carries Forest Through
A huge player for Nottingham Forest, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi started on the bench in the game at the City Ground, and with his team in trouble, manager Vitor Pereira brought him on alongside a few others to pull the Reds back on course.
The first minute didn’t go as planned for the hosts as Cunha gave away a penalty, which Akturkoglu scored, but from that point onwards, Forest looked dangerous once more.
The Chelsea academy graduate has played in all but one UEFA Europa League game this season and was a key man for Forest’s win in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Play-Offs.
After coming on at half-time, his pace, skill and directness caused full-back and substitute Nelson Semedo numerous problems.
Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina posed huge threats down the flank, and that’s exactly how the goal came about.
A neat cross from the flying full-back landed at the feet of the dashing winger, who made no mistake in getting past his man before firing an effort into the bottom corner to make the score Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce on the night.
Even with the defeat, the Reds progressed into the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, but they certainly did not make it easy for themselves.
Forest boss Pereira looked to rest his key men after a gruelling schedule as he made several changes to his starting team for the second leg.
However, that did backfire slightly as the centre-back duo of Morato and Cunha looked out of depth, full-back Murillo, who plays as a central defender, bombed forward far too much, and the front line lacked that magic end product.
The half-time substitutes made a huge impact, and even though the scoreline read Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce, the Reds made their way into the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 to continue their European adventure.
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce: Akturkoglu’s Brace Not Enough For First Leg Deficit To Be Overturned
The Turkish forward lit up the evening at the City Ground for Fenerbahce and gave the side from Istanbul hope that they could make it into the UEFA Europa League Round of 16.
Akturkoglu was the shining light for the visitors on an evening that they needed to win by a big margin to progress.
Fenerbahce’s number nine took that task onto his shoulders as he fired past Ortega in the 22nd minute to give his side the lead on the night.
Early in the second half, he won a penalty and converted it to put Fenerbahce within one goal of a miraculous turnaround.
His flair and dribbling were a nightmare for the Forest defence, who simply could not get anywhere near him as he continued to work the ball into the box to drag his side back into the tie.
Unfortunately, for all his hard work, Fenerbahce fell just short as they bowed out of the UEFA Europa League.
However, with a strong unbeaten record in the Turkish Superliga, Fenerbahce have a strong chance of UEFA Champions League qualification, but if they falter at the end of the season, the UEFA Europa League will be calling their name once again.
Fenerbahce boss Domenico Tedesco is going through somewhat of an injury crisis, but with players like Akturkoglu, the Italian coach has a reliable and proven goalscorer in high-pressure moments.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO/NurPhoto
Recording Date: 26.02.2026
