Braga Snares Victory as Yates’ Own Goal and Gibbs-White Miss Shatter Nottingham Forest’s Top Eight Dreams

Oh, what a heartbreaker for Nottingham Forest fans last night! You could almost feel the air go out of their sails as Braga snatched a narrow 1-0 victory, effectively slashing Forest’s chances of cruising into the Europa League last 16 without the hassle of playoffs. That missed penalty by Morgan Gibbs-White? Yeah, it stung deep — and just when you thought they might bounce back, Ryan Yates’s own goal hit like a double whammy, flipping the script in less than a minute. Both teams went into this one with everything to play for, nerves wearing thin and strategy on both ends tight as a drum, but it was the Portuguese side who held their nerve better under pressure. The details? Free-kicks expertly saved, penalty drama, and close calls rattling crossbars and posts kept hearts racing. And talk about a tale of two stats — Braga clinching three points despite not landing a single shot on target? That’s chaos on paper but pure efficiency live! Trust me, this match had every twist and turn you’d expect from high-stakes European football — and then some. Dive into the full scoop right here: LEARN MORE

Nottingham Forest’s hopes of automatically reaching the last 16 of the Europa League are all but over after they lost 1-0 to Braga.

Morgan Gibbs-White missed from the penalty spot for the Tricky Trees, and they were punished just 55 seconds later when Ryan Yates turned the ball into his own net as Forest are now three points, but seven positions behind eighth-place Porto.

It was a cagey start from both sides, who knew a win would go a long way towards finishing in the top eight, with Gibbs-White’s free-kick, which was brilliantly tipped away by Lukas Hornicek, the only shot on target in the first half.

The match-defining moments then came early in the second period, with Gabri Martinez fouling James McAtee in the 50th minute. Gibbs-White stepped up to take the penalty, but Hornicek dived low to his left to make the stop.

The hosts then broke down the right wing as Horta received the ball in the box, and his low centre was turned in by a back-tracking Yates, who could not sort his feet out in time.

Forest pushed for an equaliser, and Ola Aina went close when his strike from distance crashed against the crossbar, while Pau Victor hit the post at the other end with a first-time effort in the box.

Braga managed to see out a victory, which moves them up to fifth in the league phase, while Forest ended with 10 men on the pitch after Elliot Anderson was sent off in stoppage time for dissent.

Em vantagem! #GanharComTodos | #UEL pic.twitter.com/Hl1o37lMw1

— SC Braga (@SCBragaOficial) January 22, 2026

Data Debrief: Tough night for Yates

Remarkably, Braga managed to win all three points at home without registering a single shot on target. They produced 0.55 expected goals (xG) from six shots compared to Forest’s 1.74 from 12 attempts, four of which were on target.

Yates’ own goal, meanwhile, summed up a difficult match for the midfielder. He failed to hit the target with any of his three shots, won just one of his six duels and committed four fouls.

Including qualifiers, Braga have now won 11 of their last 14 European matches (D2 L1), keeping 10 clean sheets in this run. Their 10 wins in all European competitions in 2025-26 are their most in a season.