Nottingham Forest’s Europa League hopes remain intact after a comical own goal helped them overcome the first leg of their quarter-final against FC Porto with a 1-1 draw.
A much-changed Forest team was under pressure against the Primeira Liga leaders and fell behind to William Gomes’ early goal.
But they were gifted the equalizer by hapless Porto defender Martim Fernandes, who sent a 25-yard backpass into his own goal.
Forest had a goal disallowed in the second half but it was up to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to make a series of important saves to ensure they returned to the City Ground for next week’s second leg on a level playing field.
Importantly, they were able to get the result while keeping a number of their important Premier League players fresh ahead of Sunday’s vital clash against Aston Villa.
If Forest can get the job done at home next week, it seems very likely that Villa will be waiting in the semi-final after winning the first leg against Bologna.
In fact, Villa was clearly on manager Vitor Pereira’s mind.
Forest were playing in their first European quarter-final since losing to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup 30 years ago, but the Portuguese made their priority clear, making nine changes from the team that beat Tottenham in the Premier League before the international break.
One of them was the return of Chris Wood, who was playing his first game since mid-October after a knee injury.
And Wood had not touched the ball when Forest should have been behind within 40 seconds.
Seko Fofana was sent off on the right and faced Terem Moffi, whose shot went too close to Ortega, but the Forest goalkeeper saved Borja Sainz’s shot.
It was no surprise when Porto took the lead in the 11th minute.
A clever move down the left saw Pablo Rosario’s backheel release Gabriel Veiga and his incisive cross over the goal was slid towards the far post by William.
The forests were bewildered, but two minutes later they received an extraordinary gift.
Porto had controlled possession and right-back Fernandes passed the ball to his goalkeeper Diogo Costa, but he did so without looking and sent the ball wide of Costa into the empty goal for a comical own goal.
That allowed Forest to gain a foothold in the game and they controlled things, but they almost went into the break losing.
Fofana’s cross was once again perfect for Moffi, but the forward headed straight at Ortega.
Forest thought they had taken the lead in the 63rd minute when Igor Jesus won the ball from Costa and scored.
It seemed that the Brazilian had won the game fairly, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check for a handball.
Porto took advantage of their respite with good results and looked strong.
William forced another brilliant save from Ortega, who headed around the post, before Deniz Gül headed narrowly wide.
Victor Froholdt then shot wide as Porto looked for the lead in the first leg.
But Pereira, who guided the Portuguese club to an invincible league title campaign in 2011/12, has enjoyed a satisfying return to his former home, with the tie set to be decided in Nottingham next week.
