Vitor Pereira was impressed with Nottingham Forest performance after they recorded a 1-1 draw at Porto in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash.
The Premier League strugglers had defeated the Portuguese side 2-0 when they met during the league-phase and were hoping for another good result at the iconic Estadio do Dragao.
Forest also played in their first European last eight clash in 30 years and will now fancy their chances ahead of next week’s second leg at the City Ground.
“A good result in my opinion. To face two competitions we need to play with everyone. The players that started today did good work. In the end, 1-1, the game is open to play at home and decide qualification”, Pereira said.
Chris Wood made his first appearance since October, but it was the hosts who took the lead in the 11th minute through William Gomes.
Nottingham Forest were level through a bizarre own goal as Martim Fernandes pass from outside the area caught Diogo Costa off guard and went into the back of the net.
Igor Jesus also scored for Forest in the second half, but the strike was ruled out for a foul on Costa in the buildup as the game ended 1-1.
“Porto playing at home are a strong team. They have momentum with supporters. At Forest I try to balance the two competitions, it was very clear we played with nine different players to the last game. I think we did well. The players tried everything”, Pereira added.
“The first two subs we did I was thinking about the next game against Villa. It’s very important for us to get points in the league and this is the only way.”
Nottingham Forest will now shift their attention to the Premier League where they face Aston Villa on Sunday, hoping for a win to move away from the drop zone.
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