Nottingham Forest kept their Europa League aspirations alive after a humorous own goal allowed them to escape with a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinal first leg against FC Porto.
The Forest lineup featured several changes and they faced early pressure from the Primeira Liga leaders, conceding a goal to William Gomes shortly after kickoff.
However, an unfortunate blunder from Porto defender Martim Fernandes, who misplayed a back-pass from 25 yards into his own net, allowed the visitors to level the score.
Although Forest had a goal disallowed in the second half, they relied heavily on goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, whose crucial saves ensured they return to the City Ground next week for the second leg with everything to play for.
Crucially, they managed to secure this result while resting several key players ahead of a crucial Premier League match against Aston Villa on Sunday.
If Forest can triumph at home next week, they are likely to set up a semifinal clash against Villa, who won their first leg against Bologna.
It’s clear that Villa was on the mind of Forest boss Vitor Pereira.
This match marked Forest’s first European quarterfinal since their defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup three decades ago, but Pereira demonstrated which competition takes precedence by making nine changes to the team that previously beat Tottenham in the Premier League prior to the international break.
One key return was Chris Wood, who played his first game since mid-October due to a knee injury.
However, Wood hadn’t touched the ball within the first 40 seconds when Forest should have fallen behind.
Seko Fofana beat defenders down the right and squared the ball for Terem Moffi, whose shot was too close to Ortega, and the Forest keeper also denied Borja Sainz’s follow-up effort.
Porto’s 11th-minute lead came as no surprise, with a swift attack culminating in a backheel from Pablo Rosario that freed Gabriel Veiga. He then delivered a pinpoint pass across goal that was tapped in by William at the far post.
Though rattled, Forest received an unexpected lifeline just two minutes later.
While Porto controlled the game, right-back Fernandes attempted a back-pass to goalkeeper Diogo Costa without looking, directing the ball wide of Costa and into the empty net for an embarrassing own goal.
This error gave Forest momentum, and while they held the upper hand, they nearly went into halftime behind.
Fofana’s precise cross found Moffi, whose header was right at Ortega.
Forest thought they had taken the lead in the 63rd minute when Igor Jesus beat Costa to the ball and found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review indicated a handball.
Porto capitalized on their reprieve and mounted a strong response.
William forced another brilliant save from Ortega, who tipped the shot around the post, before Deniz Gül curled a shot just wide.
Victor Froholdt narrowly missed with a shot as Porto desperately sought a first-leg advantage.
Ultimately, Pereira, who previously guided the Portuguese club to an unbeaten league title campaign in 2011/12, enjoyed a satisfactory return to his former club, with the tie set to be settled in Nottingham next week.