Key stats
- Sporting Braga failed to attempt a shot on target, it's the first time they failed to attempt a shot on target in a game in the Europa League since facing Roma on 12th December 2024.
- Sporting Braga have kept a clean sheet in five of their seven games, no team has done this more in the Europa League this season.
- Nottingham Forest have won five penalties in the Europa League this season, more than any other team.
Highlights
Analysis
Braga dominated for large periods but only attempted six shots in the game, their lowest total in a single match in the Europa League this season.
Match report
On a wet and gloomy evening in North-West Portugal, the quality on the pitch matched the mood of the sparsely-populated Estádio Municipal. Morgan Gibbs-White had the first chance of the game when his curling free-kick was parried away by Lukáš Horníček, shortly before Forest captain Ryan Yates tried his luck from distance, only to see his effort fail to trouble the Braga stopper.
The hosts were struggling to get anything of note going, but they had the best chance of the first half on 37 minutes when Victor Gómez’s enticing delivery was nodded just wide by Gabri Martínez as he got to the ball ahead of Nicolò Savona.
Florian Grillitsch then headed a free-kick delivery into the side netting in stoppage time as a rather tame first half came to a close.
After that subdued first half, Braga came out of the traps much quicker in the second and had a big chance after just two minutes. It came the way of Ricardo Horta after good work down the left from Martínez, but Horta couldn’t sort his feet out and could only poke over the bar.
Sean Dyche’s men responded well and promptly won a penalty kick when Savona was sandwiched between two home defenders. However, Horníček came up trumps again against Gibbs-White as he dived low to his left to push the ball away.
The game had well and truly exploded into life, and the opener came just a minute later as Forest were made to pay for that failure from 12 yards. Horta and Fran Navarro linked up nicely, and the former of the two’s square ball across goal was turned into his own net by the unfortunate Yates.
Both sides then came a woodwork’s width away from a goal. First, Ola Aina crashed a long-range effort off the bar before Horta’s first-time effort in the box came back off the post.
Forest were getting progressively desperate, and Dan Ndoye – who was later booked for simulation – took three bites at a cross before eventually picking out Yates, whose header was deflected over. Try as they might, Sean Dyche’s men couldn’t breach the home goal as they ultimately fell to a second defeat in seven UEL outings.
It means they still have work to do at home against high-flying Ferencvárosi TC in their final league phase game next week if they are to secure knockout football, and will have to do it without Elliott Anderson, who was shown a late red card for abusive language towards the referee. Braga, meanwhile, are in pole position for a top-eight finish.
Flashcore Man of the Match: Ricardo Horta (SC Braga)
Post-match comments
Nottingham Forest midfielder Ryan Yates said their defeat against Braga was "very disappointing" as he felt it was a game they largely controlled.
"I thought we stifled them in the first half," he told TNT Sports. "We had opportunities to make a breakthrough, we don't, then I unfortunately make a mistake at the other end. Then we could never get a foothold in the game after that.
"When you get handed an opportunity and you don't take it, you get punished. I have to hold my hands up. I should have done better."
"We are frustrated as I think we have done enough to win the game. We have missed an opportunity and that's why we're frustrated, not that we were terrible on the night. Fine margins. We have to keep working and put that right.
"We are still in a solid position in the competition. No negativity in the dressing room, that's for sure."
When asked what Forest need to do differently in their coming fixtures, he added: "Me not scoring an own goal for starters. I think we have progressed a lot under Dyche."
Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche lamented his side's defeat and said it was a "frustrating" game in which "one minute of madness" cost them dear.
"A game we never looked in trouble. Never dominated as much as we liked," he said to TNT Sports. "We are playing, we don't have a recognised centre-forward and that can make it tricky. The reaction was nowhere good enough for a minute or so. We lost the game to a really poor goal."
"You see it happen (the goal they conceded), they get a lift, the crowd go mad. We knock off for a minute, go chasing the ball, they get lucky with a bobble into the box and that can happen. Then a unfortunate situation for Yatesy (Ryan Yates).
"I think the tempo of the game - we got sucked into playing slow. Didn't really affect the backline as many times as we hoped. We got the penalty, and it is one of those games if you seal that."