European Recap: Forest Lose Again, Villa and Palace Get Wins on the Road

Nottingham Forest 2-3 Midtjylland

Ange Postecoglou is still waiting for his first win as Nottingham Forest manager after his side fell 3-2 to Midtjylland in their first European home game since 1996.

The City Ground atmosphere was electric, but Forest’s missed chances in the opening spell proved costly. Against the run of play, Midtjylland struck first when Ousmane Diao bundled in from a flicked Aral Şimşir free-kick. Forest responded well, and Morgan Gibbs-White set up Dan Ndoye to tap home the equaliser. Yet, parity lasted just two minutes as Matz Sels’ save from Martin Erlić fell kindly to Mads Bech, who poked in to restore the Danish side’s lead.

After the break, Forest pressed for a leveller, with Chris Wood twice denied by offside decisions. Their failure to convert was punished late on when Valdemar Andreasen finished a quick counter to make it 3-1. A late Chris Wood penalty provided consolation, but chants of “sacked in the morning” summed up the mood as Midtjylland extended their impressive run of European away wins.

Feyenoord 0-2 Aston Villa

Aston Villa made it three wins from three in the UEFA Europa League, defeating Feyenoord 2-0 in Rotterdam – the same stadium where they lifted the European Cup in 1982.

The home side started brightly, with Sem Steijn and Ayase Ueda forcing stops from Marco Bizot, while Ueda also had a header ruled out for a foul. Villa threatened through Ollie Watkins, who saw his effort cleared off the line, but went into half-time grateful for Bizot’s saves keeping it level.

Villa turned the tide in the second half. Emiliano Buendía curled a stunning finish into the corner just after the hour, before John McGinn capitalised on loose play in the area to slot in the second. Feyenoord pushed but Unai Emery’s men held firm, securing a valuable victory that maintains their perfect record in Group play.

Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace made history with a club-record 19th unbeaten match, beating Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 in Lublin to begin their UEFA Conference League campaign in style.

The game sparked into life on 31 minutes when Daniel Muñoz powered home a header from Yeremy Pino’s cross, marking Palace’s first-ever goal in major European competition. The Eagles pushed for more before the break, with Borna Sosa and Daichi Kamada going close.

Eddie Nketiah replaced Jean-Philippe Mateta at half-time and doubled the lead shortly after, finishing Pino’s superb byline run. He almost added a third with a fierce strike, but Dynamo keeper Ruslan Neshcheret denied him. Palace were reduced to ten when Sosa received two quick yellow cards, yet Kyiv failed to take advantage.

Glasner’s side stood firm for a clean sheet and now look well placed to mount a serious challenge in Europe, extending their remarkable unbeaten run in the process.