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Porto defender Martim Fernandes was also forced off injured soon after his own goal At a glance William Gomes scores Porto opener Freak own goal by Martim Fernandes levels for Forest Igor Jesus has second-half goal disallowed PLAYER RATER Martim Fernandes' freak own goal gifted Nottingham Forest a route to a first European semi-final in over 40 years. The Porto defender passed it into his own net from 45 yards with goalkeeper Diogo Gomes stranded to cancel out William Gomes' early opener. It gave Forest a way back in Portugal just as the hosts threatened to quickly take complete control of the Europa League quarter-final first leg. "It's part of the match, it's part of the game. There was some pressure and some failure in their communication so we ended up scoring, " said Forest boss Vitor Pereira. Now, victory at the City Ground - where they have already beaten Porto this season - next Thursday will send Forest into their first European semi-final since 1984. Aston Villa could be waiting for an all-English clash after their 3-1 win in Bologna put them in pole position to progress. Stefan Ortega had already denied Terem Moffi and Borja Sainz before Porto went ahead, William Gomes finishing at the far post, and saved again from Moffi in first-half injury time. Igor Jesus had a goal disallowed after the break, having collided with the goalkeeper, while Ortega's fine stop denied William Gomes a second. It meant Forest boss Vitor Pereira, who won two titles with Porto, returned to Estadio do Dragao to claim a vital result after making nine changes - including starting Chris Wood, as the striker made his return after six months out. Forest remain in a Premier League relegation battle, sitting three points above the drop zone, with Pereira mindful of Sunday's top-flight visit of Villa. "We changed some players, why? In two-and-a-half days we are playing against Aston Villa and I have to think about it, " he said. "If we were certain in the Premier League we would be talking about another match but I'm pleased with the result, the players gave it their best, they kept it open and we will see what we can do next week. "The two first replacements were thinking about Aston Villa, that is important to understand. "We are playing to stay in the Premier League and that has to be taken very seriously. I have to be responsible and we have to add points as quickly as possible to escape the last matches and remain in the Premier League. " Vitor Pereira's selection was questioned when the teams were announced. Nine changes, Chris Wood starting after six months out injured and Forest without the suspended Elliot Anderson. At the final whistle, the head coach's plan had worked perfectly as Forest claimed an impressive draw at Estadio do Dragao to take into next week's second leg at the City Ground. With Premier League survival on the line, Pereira had already dismissed talk of priorities in Portugal but it was evident there was already one eye on Sunday's Premier League visit of Aston Villa. Porto boss Francesco Farioli made eight changes - as his team try to win their first title in four years - but it was Pereira who was the victor, even with a draw. Nikola Milenkovic, Igor Jesus, Neco Williams, Omari Hutchinson and Ibrahim Sangare were all introduced in the second half as Forest consolidated the result. They still rode their luck, early in the first half especially, and Stefan Ortega's late save from William Gomes ensured the positive result. The only caution would be Forest have won away at Fenerbahce and Midtjylland in the knockout stage of the competition but lost at home. But they beat Porto 2-0 at the City Ground in the group phase in October, Sean Dyche's first game of his brief spell. Even before then, the aim was to win the Europa League and, after a draw in Portugal, Forest have moved a step closer. Nottingham Forest: Aston Villa come to the City Ground in the Premier League on Sunday (14: 00) before Porto travel to Nottingham for next Thursday's Europa League quarter-final second leg (20: 00). Porto: The title chasers go to Estoril on Sunday (20: 30) as they prepare for the second leg at the City Ground on Thursday (20: 00). What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display? After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Manager: Francesco Farioli Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Vítor Pereira Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Francesco Farioli Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Vítor Pereira Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 UEFA Europa League All competitions All competitions All competitions This is the second time this season Porto and Nottingham Forest will meet, with Forest winning 2-0 at the City Ground in October in the group stages. Nottingham Forest’s only previous European away game in Portugal was at Sporting Braga in January this season, a game they lost 1-0. Porto are competing in their 18th major European quarter-final, though this is their first since 2020-21 in the UEFA Champions League when they lost to Chelsea. In fact, they’ve been eliminated in their last four quarter-final ties since knocking out Spartak Moscow in the 2010-11 UEFA Europa League. Nottingham Forest are into their fifth major European quarter-final and first since the 1995-96 UEFA Cup, when they were knocked out by Bayern Munich. They progressed from the other three in 1978-79 and 1979-80 in the European Cup and the 1983-84 UEFA Cup. Porto are one of three sides with a 100% home record in the UEFA Europa League this season, along with Aston Villa and Freiburg, winning all five games. Only once have they won six home games in a European season, doing so in 2010-11 on their way to winning the Europa League. Nottingham Forest’s win over Porto earlier this season in the UEFA Europa League came under former manager Sean Dyche. The only two instances of English clubs beating a team twice in a major European season under two different managers is Chelsea vs FC Nordsjælland in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League (Di Matteo and Benitez) and Man Utd vs Villarreal in the 2021-22 Champions League (Solskjaer and Carrick). Borja Sainz has assisted in each of his last two UEFA Europa League appearances for Porto – the last Porto player to assist a goal in three major European games in a row was Fredy Guarín in April/May 2011 in the Europa League. Nottingham Forest manager Vítor Pereira is set to manage against FC Porto for the first time, though he did take charge of two games against FC Porto B in the II Divisão Série B in 2005-06 as SC Espinho manager. The only Portuguese manager to face them in the UEFA Europa League is Domingos Paciência in the 2011 final with Braga, a game won 1-0 by Porto. Attempt saved. James Mc Atee (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Diogo Costa (FC Porto). Assisted by Morgan Gibbs-White. Corner, FC Porto. Conceded by Nicolás Domínguez. Attempt blocked. Borja Sainz (FC Porto) header from a difficult angle on the right is blocked. Assisted by William Gomes with a cross. Corner, FC Porto. Conceded by Zach Abbott. Attempt blocked. Alberto Costa (FC Porto) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is blocked. Assisted by Pablo Rosario. Gabri Veiga (FC Porto) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Nicolás Domínguez (Nottingham Forest). Attempt missed. William Gomes (FC Porto) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Seko Fofana. Second Half begins FC Porto 1, Nottingham Forest 1. Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Igor Jesus replaces Chris Wood. Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Nikola Milenkovic replaces Murillo. First Half ends, FC Porto 1, Nottingham Forest 1. Attempt saved. Terem Moffi (FC Porto) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Stefan Ortega (Nottingham Forest). Assisted by Seko Fofana with a cross. Borja Sainz (FC Porto) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Ryan Yates (Nottingham Forest). Fourth official has announced 3 minutes of added time. Foul by Borja Sainz (FC Porto). Dilane Bakwa (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Offside, Nottingham Forest. Chris Wood is caught offside. Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.