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Nottingham Forest booked their place in the Europa League Round of 16 with Nigerian defender Ola Aina playing an important role in a tense night of knockout football across Europe that delivered both celebration and disappointment for Nigerian players, Footynaija reports.
Forest arrived at the City Ground holding a commanding first-leg advantage after a dominant victory in Istanbul, yet their return encounter against Fenerbahçe quickly became uncomfortable.
Vítor Pereira on Forest progressing to the last 16 of the @EuropaLeague. 🗣️
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 27, 2026
The visitors threatened an unlikely comeback when Kerem Aktürkoğlu struck twice, either side of the interval, to place pressure on the Premier League side.
Managerial adjustments proved decisive. Introduced at half-time, Aina injected energy down the flank and soon influenced the tie. His attacking involvement led directly to the goal scored by Callum Hudson-Odoi, a moment that restored Forest’s control and effectively ended the Turkish side’s hopes.
Despite losing the match 2-1 on the night, Forest advanced comfortably on aggregate.
Ola & CHO combine to make it 4-2 on aggregate. 👊 pic.twitter.com/nT3fobUasS
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 26, 2026
Elsewhere, Nigerian forward Yusuf Bamidele enjoyed a productive evening with Ferencváros, providing an assist in a 2-0 victory over Ludogorets Razgrad. The Hungarian champions overturned their first-leg deficit to progress 3-2 overall, completing one of the round’s notable comebacks.
The night, however, ended in disappointment for Kelechi Iheanacho and Celtic. Although the Scottish side secured an impressive 1-0 away win against VfB Stuttgart, the heavy defeat suffered in the first leg proved decisive.
Iheanacho appeared late from the bench, but Stuttgart advanced comfortably on aggregate.
Another Nigerian exit followed when Salim Fargo Lawal and Viktoria Plzeň were eliminated by Panathinaikos after a penalty shootout.
Lawal, who had earlier scored in Greece, played every minute of a gruelling contest before the Czech side fell short from the spot, while injured Super Eagles forward Cyriel Dessers was unavailable.
Beautifully done 🤩 Sor with the equaliser 💪💙 #mijnploeg #UEL pic.twitter.com/ke1IsEcLC8
— KRC Genk (@KRCGenkofficial) February 26, 2026
In Belgium, Yira Sor delivered a crucial goal for KRC Genk during a dramatic encounter against Dinamo Zagreb. His equaliser helped stabilise the tie before extra-time strikes secured Genk’s passage with a high-scoring 6-4 aggregate victory.
