LONDON: Nottingham Forest reached the UEFA Europa League 2025-26 quarterfinals after Midtjylland missed all three of its penalties in the last-16 second-leg shoot-out, while John McGinn inspired Aston Villa’s 2-0 win against Lille on Thursday.
Vitor Pereira’s Forest won 2-1 after extra-time at the MCH Arena in Denmark to level the tie at 2-2 on aggregate.
That set up the farcical shoot-out as Midtjylland’s Cho Gue-sung and Aral Simsir both hit the post before Edward Chilufya slipped and blazed over.
Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Neco Williams converted Forest’s three kicks to extend the club’s first European campaign since 1995-96, when it reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.
The Premier League struggler will play Porto in the next stage after the Portuguese outfit beat Stuttgart 2-0.
William Carvalho and Victor Froholdt netted to clinch Porto’s 4-1 aggregate victory, with Stuttgart’s Nikolas Nartey sent off in the closing stages.
Admitting he needed his players to be “fresh mentally and physically”, Pereira prioritised Sunday’s vital clash with relegation rival Tottenham Hotspur as he made nine changes from last weekend’s 0-0 draw against Fulham.
Forest’s understudies rose to the challenge and took the lead in the 41st minute.
Climbing to meet Nikola Milenkovic’s flick, Nicolas Dominguez craned his neck to loop a header over Elias Olafsson from six yards.
Midtjylland was breached again in the 52nd minute when Ryan Yates lashed home from 25 yards before Martin Erlic’s 69th-minute reply for the hosts set up the shoot-out.
At Villa Park, Unai Emery’s side, defending a 1-0 first-leg lead, went ahead in the 54th minute with a perfectly executed route one move.
Emiliano Martinez launched a mammoth kick towards Jadon Sancho, and his pass across the Lille penalty area was tucked away with aplomb by McGinn. It was the Scotland midfielder’s first goal since January 3 after two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Leon Bailey’s 86th-minute tap-in from Ollie Watkins’ pass ensured Villa advanced to a European quarterfinal for a third successive season.
Villa’s dismal run of two wins from 10 Premier League games has put its bid to qualify for the Champions League in jeopardy.
Yet it has thrived in continental action, and Emery remains in contention for a fifth Europa League crown after winning three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. Villa’s quarterfinal opponent will be Bologna, which beat Roma 4-3 in an all-Italian thriller at the Stadio Olimpico.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Jonathan Rowe put Bologna ahead in the 22nd minute, but Roma’s Evan N’Dicka equalised 10 minutes later.
Federico Bernardeschi’s penalty in first half stoppage-time and Santiago Castro’s 58th-minute strike put Bologna 3-1 up. Roma’s Donyell Malen converted a 69th-minute penalty, and Lorenzo Pellegrini equalised in the 80th minute.
But Nicolo Cambiaghi slotted home for Bologna in the 111th minute.
Real Betis thrashed Greek side Panathinaikos 4-0, booking a tie against Sporting Braga, which routed Ferencvaros 4-0 on Wednesday.
Celta Vigo beat nine-man Lyon 2-0 in France to secure a 3-1 aggregate win.
Lyon, which finished top of the league phase, was reduced to 10 men in the 19th minute when Senegal defender Moussa Niakhate was sent off for a foul on Javi Rueda.
Rueda ensured the Spanish side took advantage of its numerical superiority with a close-range finish in the 61st minute.
Ferran Jutgla scored in stoppage-time to wrap up the victory before Lyon’s Nicolas Tagliafico was dismissed for a second booking.
Celta will play Freiburg for a place in the semifinals after the German side crushed Genk 5-1. Agencies
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