Vitor Pereira Issues Warning to Midtjylland After Nottingham Forest’s Europa League Setback

Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has warned FC Midtjylland that their Europa League last-16 tie is far from over despite his side suffering a frustrating 1–0 defeat in the first leg at the City Ground.

Forest dominated large spells of the contest and created numerous opportunities but were unable to convert their chances on a rain-soaked evening on the banks of the River Trent. Their lack of cutting edge in front of goal ultimately proved costly.

The hosts were punished for their wastefulness in the 80th minute when Guesung Cho rose to head home the decisive goal for the Danish side, leaving Pereira’s team with a challenging task in the return leg in Denmark if they are to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Reflecting on the defeat, the Portuguese coach described the result as harsh given his side’s overall performance.

“The ball simply did not want to go into the goal,” Pereira said. “Every time we were close, there was either a defender, the goalkeeper or someone blocking the shot.

“But we tried everything. We had 22 or 23 shots during the match. That is football — they created two chances and managed to score.”

Despite the setback, Pereira insisted the tie remains very much alive and suggested Midtjylland may have celebrated prematurely.

“They are celebrating a lot, as if the tie finished today, but it is not finished,” he added. “We still have another match to play.”

Forest must now quickly turn their attention to domestic action, with a Premier League clash against Fulham scheduled for Sunday.

“Now it is time to recover mentally and physically and prepare for Fulham, because that will be another difficult challenge for us,” Pereira continued. “After that, we will focus again on the second leg.”

The Forest manager defended his players’ efforts, emphasising that they had given everything despite their inability to find the net.

“Sometimes you can play well, create chances and still not score,” he said. “But I cannot say my players did not do everything to win the match, because they did. They gave everything to try and score.

“A defeat is part of football. It is a cruel and difficult moment, but it is important to maintain our spirit and mentality so we can recover for the next match.”

Pereira also praised his squad’s determination and the support from the home crowd throughout the encounter.

“The players are naturally frustrated, but I am proud of them,” he added. “They showed the spirit I want to see and they played with quality. With the rain and the conditions, it was not easy to create so many chances.

“We did not allow this team many opportunities — I only remember two chances from them during the match.

“I am also proud of our supporters because they believed in the team from the first minute until the last. They tried to push us forward.

“This tie is only at half-time, and we will see what we can do in the next game.”