Nottingham Forest earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over Utrecht, as Arnaud Kalimuendo's opener was cancelled out by Mike van der Hoorn before Igor Jesus sealed the deal in the dying minutes. The French striker's late strike gave Forest their third win of the Europa League campaign and boosted their hopes for a top-eight finish.
The visitors made nine changes from Saturday's 3-0 loss, but Murillo, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Douglas Luiz returned from injury, providing some much-needed stability. The teams' first competitive meeting was marked by a more even contest than expected, with Utrecht testing Forest's goalkeeper, John Victor – who replaced Matz Sels due to a groin injury.
Forest made another quick start in the second half, as Kalimuendo scored the opening goal in the 52nd minute. However, Van der Hoorn equalised for Utrecht in the 73rd minute, before Jesus came off the bench to seal the win with a late header. The visitors' third Europa League win was secured just a minute after he replaced Kalimuendo.
In contrast, Rangers' hopes of progression to the knockout stages were dashed by a 2-1 defeat to Ferencvaros in Budapest. Bojan Miovski's acrobatic opener in the 27th minute seemed to set the tone, but Bence Otvos levelled for Ferencvaros before Barnabas Varga scored the winner.
The Hungarian side showed great composure under pressure and deserved their win, while Rangers struggled to cope with Ferencvaros' pace and skill. With this defeat, Rangers have now won just one point from 12 in Europe and are unlikely to progress to the knockout stages.
The visitors made nine changes from Saturday's 3-0 loss, but Murillo, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Douglas Luiz returned from injury, providing some much-needed stability. The teams' first competitive meeting was marked by a more even contest than expected, with Utrecht testing Forest's goalkeeper, John Victor – who replaced Matz Sels due to a groin injury.
Forest made another quick start in the second half, as Kalimuendo scored the opening goal in the 52nd minute. However, Van der Hoorn equalised for Utrecht in the 73rd minute, before Jesus came off the bench to seal the win with a late header. The visitors' third Europa League win was secured just a minute after he replaced Kalimuendo.
In contrast, Rangers' hopes of progression to the knockout stages were dashed by a 2-1 defeat to Ferencvaros in Budapest. Bojan Miovski's acrobatic opener in the 27th minute seemed to set the tone, but Bence Otvos levelled for Ferencvaros before Barnabas Varga scored the winner.
The Hungarian side showed great composure under pressure and deserved their win, while Rangers struggled to cope with Ferencvaros' pace and skill. With this defeat, Rangers have now won just one point from 12 in Europe and are unlikely to progress to the knockout stages.
They've been on a roll lately and that win over Utrecht was a great step forward. Arnaud Kalimuendo is a beast on the pitch, what a finisher! 
️ But, gotta say, I'm a bit surprised they didn't shut the door sooner, Van der Hoorn's equalizer felt like a wake-up call for Forest. 
Still, three points in the bag and they're well on their way to that top-eight finish. How about Rangers though? 
Yeah, I thought they had it in the bag after Miovski scored, but Ferencvaros was always going to be a tough opponent. They need to get their game back together ASAP or this season is gonna be a long one for them 
they made so many changes which is crazy but forest's squad depth is real 
jesus is like the savior of forest 
ferencvaros was like the ultimate squad buster 
miovski's goal was insane and ferencvaros played so well under pressure 
forest should take note of that and step up their game for next match 
. So, Nottingham Forest finally got their third win of the Europa League campaign against Utrecht, but like, what a struggle it was 
. Their defense is still super weak and they keep getting lucky with those late goals. And can we talk about how boring Rangers are right now? 
They just got demolished by Ferencvaros and I don't see them bouncing back from this 
That one win from 12 points is not great, but you can't blame them for trying.
I think that's a sign of their growing strength in the competition.
. and that Arnaud Kalimuendo kid is on fire 
! i'm loving the way he's scoring goals left and right.
. you'd think they'd be able to handle the pace and skill of some hungarian team but nope... gotta give credit where credit is due tho, ferencvaros were solid 
. It was such an intense match! 
... I mean, who wouldn't guess a French striker would score an opener? 
At least Forest's goalkeeper didn't have to deal with a groin injury before the game even started, nice save for John Victor! 
. So yeah Nottingham Forest finally getting that win against Utrecht is a good sign for them. Arnaud Kalimuendo's goal was crucial, but it's great to see Igor Jesus coming off the bench and scoring a winner in the dying minutes. It shows he can make an impact when needed 
and now its like theyre out of the running for the knockouts already? u feel me tho nottingham forest is looking good tho, their win over utrecht was a big boost for them 
i think igor jesus is the real deal, he just sealed the win with a late header and it looked so satisfying 
anyways gotta give credit to ferencvaros they played some great football under pressure 
. And that last-minute goal by Jesus was pure magic 
. Utrecht gave them a run for their money, but in the end, Forest's determination paid off.
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Utrecht made some changes and still managed to give forest a run for their money, so props to them.
but we'll see how long that lasts. the euro league is always full of ups and downs, and teams r constantly switching places 
Forest played so much better than I expected, their third win in the Europa League campaign is huge for them! 
And I'm loving Arnaud Kalimuendo's form right now 
Ferencvaros deserved that win, they played some really nice football 
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. Arnaud Kalimuendo is on fire tho, his goal was so sharp 
. Also, that late winner by Igor Jesus was pure magic 
. I think Igor Jesus's late strike was pure instinct, he saw the ball in mid-air and just headed it home 
. I'm not surprised they tested Forest's goalkeeper John Victor, he's a solid keeper 
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. Can't wait to see what happens next! 
. And then Igor Jesus comes on and scores the winner? Mind blown! 
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