Nottingham Forest Still Winless Under Postecoglou After Europa League Defeat to Midtjylland

Nottingham Forest’s long-awaited return to European football at the City Ground ended in disappointment as they suffered a 3-2 Europa League defeat to Danish side Midtjylland, piling further pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou.

The result leaves the Australian without a win in his first six matches in charge, making him the first permanent Forest manager in a century to fail to secure a victory so early in his tenure. Frustrated home supporters voiced their discontent, chanting “sacked in the morning” while also showing support for former boss Nuno Espírito Santo.

Excitement had been high for Forest’s first European home fixture since March 1996, with a tifo unfurled in the Trent End reading, “For a new generation our time has come.” But the optimism was quickly deflated when Ousmane Diao struck in the 18th minute.

Although Dan Ndoye equalised four minutes later, Midtjylland restored their lead almost immediately through Mads Bech after another poorly defended set-piece.

Forest pressed hard after the interval, with Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams and Callum Hudson-Odoi all testing Elias Olafsson in the visiting goal. Postecoglou introduced Chris Wood, who twice thought he had levelled only for the assistant referee’s flag to cut short celebrations on both occasions.

The Danish champions then struck a decisive third in the 88th minute as Valdemar Andreasen broke clear and finished past Matz Sels, sparking loud boos from the home crowd. Wood pulled one back from the penalty spot in stoppage time after a VAR check confirmed a foul on Anderson, but it was too little, too late.

Postecoglou admitted afterwards that the manner of the goals conceded was deeply concerning, with Forest undone twice by set-pieces and again on the counter-attack.

The defeat extends Forest’s winless run to 22 days under their new manager and leaves their Europa League hopes in immediate jeopardy, with pressure from supporters now mounting rapidly.