Hudson-Odoi’s Last-Gasp Heroics Seal Fenerbahce’s Stunning Triumph Over Nottingham Forest

What a rollercoaster night at the City Ground! Nottingham Forest may have stumbled in the second leg against Fenerbahce, losing 2-1 on the night, but Callum Hudson-Odoi’s decisive strike was the masterstroke that sealed their spot in the Europa League last 16 with a 4-2 aggregate triumph. After cozying up to a comfortable 3-0 cushion from the first leg, Forest found themselves rattled as Kerem Akturkoglu surged forward, netting twice and threatening a major comeback—something we hadn’t seen since the days of Jurgen Klinsmann’s exploits back in ’96. Yet, despite a grueling first half and shaky moments early on, Forest’s response was nothing short of electric, with tactical tweaks and Hudson-Odoi’s clinical finish restoring order just when it mattered most. It wasn’t just a match; it was a test of resilience and smarts under pressure, and Forest passed with flying colors. Curious to dive deeper into how this drama unfolded? LEARN MORE.

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s goal settled the tie for Nottingham Forest, who are through to the Europa League last 16 with a 4-2 aggregate win over Fenerbahce, despite a 2-1 loss on Thursday.

Forest comfortably won the first leg 3-0, but Kerem Akturkoglu struck twice to cut the hosts’ lead at the City Ground, only for Hudson-Odoi to put the result beyond doubt.

A lightning-quick counter saw Akturkoglu played in by Sidiki Cerif, and with Neco Williams on the floor after a costly stumble, the forward slotted his shot into the bottom-left corner 22 minutes in.

Chances came and went for Elliot Anderson to equalise before Cherif almost added a second on the stroke of half-time, but Stefan Ortega made a sharp stop to keep him out.

Unimpressed by the first-half performance, Pereira made four half-time changes, but things immediately got worse after the break, with Jair Cunha catching Akturkoglu in the box just 24 seconds into the second half to give away a penalty, which the striker confidently dispatched.

Forest upped the pressure after that and got their breakthrough in the 68th minute, with Hudson-Odoi drilling his low shot across goal into the bottom-right corner.

Cetin twice made himself big to keep our Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson while one-on-one late on, with a big Ortega save to deny Marco Asencio sandwiched between those two.

Through to the last 16 of the @EuropaLeague. pic.twitter.com/yBXihHy1uF

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 26, 2026

Data Debrief: Forest survive major wobble

Things were looking quite bleak for Forest just 48 minutes into the second leg as Fenerbahce threatened a real comeback, led by Akturkoglu’s double.

The Turkiye international became the first player to score two goals in a major European game against Forest since Jurgen Klinsmann in March 1996 for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup.

Forest’s poor first half played its part in the loss; though they finished with 13 shots worth 1.18 expected goals (xG) to Fenerbahce’s 11 (1.76 xG), none of the four they attempted in the first half were on target.

But Hudson-Odoi ultimately did the damage for Forest; despite coming on at half-time, he had the second-most shots (two), touches in the opposition box (four) and chances created (two) among his team-mates.