Antony Strikes Late to deny Nottingham Forest Victory in europa League Return
Nottingham Forest’s impressive European return was spoiled by a late goal from Betis‘s Antony, resulting in a 1-1 draw in Seville. Forest had taken a commanding lead thru a brace from Igor Jesus, but Betis responded to deny them a win in their first european match in 23 years.
Forest took the lead in the 38th minute wiht a flowing move. Oleksandr Zinchenko, operating from left-back, advanced to the edge of the Betis penalty area, linking with Elliot Anderson through quick, one-touch passing. Douglas Luiz then found Morgan Gibbs-White on the right of the attack, who delivered a diagonal ball across the face of goal for Igor jesus to convert from inside the six-yard box.
Five minutes later, forest doubled their advantage. Douglas Luiz whipped in an inswinging corner, and Igor Jesus rose to head the ball into the net. Forest dominated the first half, registering 13 shots to Betis’s one, with Jesus also hitting the post and coming close to a rapid hat-trick.
Betis, eighth in La Liga and boasting a strong home record in European competition – having lost only one of their previous 18 home games – began to threaten. Pablo Fornals fired a shot wide, a warning Forest failed to fully heed. Natan, Betis’s center-back, missed a clear opportunity, but Antony capitalized in the closing stages, scoring to level the match.
Arnaud Kalimuendo, a substitute for the cautioned Igor Jesus, had a chance to extend Forest’s lead but a poor first touch hampered his progress after being fed by Zinchenko.Despite the late equaliser, Forest’s performance marked a positive return to European competition after a long absence.
Additional Information from Related Reports:
* Celtic drew 1-1 away to Serbia, with Keiran Iheanacho scoring after replacing Daizen Maeda at half-time.
* Roma defeated Nice 2-1, with goals from Evan N’Dicka and Gianluca Mancini. Terem Moffi scored a penalty for Nice.
* Braga beat Feyenoord 1-0, thanks to a goal from Fran Navarro.
