Nottingham Forest reached the quarter-finals of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League after Midtjylland missed all three penalties in the last-16 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.
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 fired over the ball.
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 they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
The Premier League struggler will play Porto in the next phase after the Portuguese side defeated Stuttgart 2-0.
William Carvalho and Victor Froholdt secured Porto’s 4-1 victory, while Stuttgart’s Nikolas Nartey was sent off in the closing stages.
Pereira admitted he needed his players to be “mentally and physically fresh” and prioritized Sunday’s crucial clash with relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur as he made nine changes from last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Fulham.
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Forest’s understudies rose to the challenge and took the lead in the 41st minute.
Nicolas Dominguez rose to meet Nikola Milenkovic’s tap and craned his neck to head a header over Elias Olafsson from six yards.
Midtjylland were breached again in the 52nd minute when Ryan Yates struck home from 25 yards before Martin Erlic’s reply in the 69th minute set up the shoot-out for the hosts.
At Villa Park, Unai Emery’s side, defending a 1-0 lead in the first leg, took the lead in the 54th minute with a perfectly executed route in one move.
Emiliano Martinez launched a huge kick towards Jadon Sancho, and his pass across the Lille penalty area was tucked away with aplomb by McGinn. It was the Scottish midfielder’s first goal since January 3, after spending two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Leon Bailey’s tap-in in the 86th minute after Ollie Watkins’ pass ensured Villa progressed to a European quarter-final for the third consecutive season.
Villa’s dismal run of two wins from 10 Premier League games has put his chances of qualifying for the Champions League in jeopardy.
Yet the country 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 opponent in the quarter-final will be Bologna, who defeated 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 equalized ten minutes later.
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Federico Bernardeschi’s penalty in first-half stoppage time and Santiago Castro’s strike in the 58th minute put Bologna 3–1 ahead. Roma’s Donyell Malen converted a 69th-minute penalty and Lorenzo Pellegrini equalized in the 80th minute.
But Nicolo Cambiaghi scored at home for Bologna in the 111th minute.
Real Betis defeated Greek side Panathinaikos 4-0 and recorded a draw against Sporting Braga, who defeated Ferencvaros 4-0 on Wednesday.
Celta Vigo defeated nine-man Lyon 2-0 in France to secure a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Lyon, who finished top of the league stage, were 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 complete the win before Lyon’s Nicolas Tagliafico was sent off for a second booking.
Celta will play Freiburg for a place in the semi-finals after the German side crushed Genk 5-1.
Published on March 20, 2026
