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Nottingham Forest leave the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie trailing 1-0 to Midtjylland, yet Omari Hutchinson insists the squad still believe they can turn the contest around when they visit MCH Arena next Thursday after a wasteful night at the City Ground.

Substitute Cho Gue-Sung settled the game in the 80th minute, drifting away from the marker and steering a header beyond Matz Sels, giving the Danish side a narrow lead to defend, despite Forest creating more chances during heavy rain throughout the match.

Forest carried the greater threat in open play, producing 22 attempts and 1.7 expected goals, yet only six efforts tested the goalkeeper. The home side struggled to find accuracy in difficult conditions, and their lack of precision allowed Midtjylland to escape with a valuable away win.

Midtjylland offered far less going forward but were ruthless when chances appeared. The visitors registered six shots, with two on target, saw one attempt cleared off the line, and struck the crossbar through Valdemar Byskov in the second half before Cho’s decisive late contribution.

Recent numbers at the City Ground highlight a wider attacking issue for Forest. Across their last four home matches in all competitions, Forest have taken 88 shots, generated 6.4 expected goals and recorded 126 touches inside the opposition box, yet scored only once during that period.

The problems extend across the full season. Forest have converted just 8.6% of their shots in all competitions during the 2025-26 campaign, which is the lowest conversion rate of any Premier League club, underlining why close matches such as this first leg are proving difficult to control.

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Those struggles have coincided with a difficult opening spell for Vitor Pereira. Since Pereira’s first match in charge, no team from Europe’s top-five leagues has suffered more defeats in all competitions than Forest, who have lost four of six games under the new head coach.

Nottingham Forest Europa League reaction from Hutchinson and Pereira

Omari Hutchinson admitted the team felt they should have taken more from the game but stressed the belief inside the dressing room remains strong as Forest prepare for Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday and then the decisive second leg in Denmark.

“Very frustrating. We had a lot of chances, and we didn’t put them to bed. And we got punished for it,” he told TNT Sports. “We have been working on finishing in training, but today was not our day. Hopefully, we can put it right on Sunday [against Fulham in the Premier League] and next week. We don’t lack confidence, and the crowd was behind us. But they [Midtjylland] defended well, so credit to them. Every game is massive, and we do have full belief. We are training well, and the fans are sticking by us. We want to put things right.”

Pereira echoed the frustration about Forest’s finishing, arguing that the performance had deserved at least a draw, and probably more, given the volume of openings created and the limited number of dangerous moments allowed to Midtjylland across the 90 minutes.

“It is difficult to explain. We created so many chances to score,” Pereira told TNT Sports. “Even if we were to draw, it would not have been fair. They had two chances, and they scored. But we had enough time, and the game was there. We had the quality to win. We did everything we could to score. We were just missing the goals. It is frustrating that we did not score. But I am happy with my players and the supporters, and we will try to keep the spirits and prepare for our next games.”

Forest now face a demanding schedule, with the meeting against Fulham offering a chance to regain rhythm before the journey to MCH Arena. The first leg showed clear issues in front of goal but also periods of control, leaving the tie balanced if Forest can finally convert chances.

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