When Nottingham Forest welcomed FC Porto to the City Ground on the evening of 23 October 2025 for their Group C fixture in the UEFA Europa League, few would have predicted such a decisive turn in fortune for the English side.
Yet under the new stewardship of manager Sean Dyche, the hosts delivered a 2–0 win that broke a long-standing ground-freeze in European competition, halted Porto’s unbeaten run and offered renewed optimism at a club that until recently had been treading water.
Forest’s season had been turbulent. They had entered this game in the shadow of a 10-match winless streak across all competitions. Meanwhile Porto arrived with the confidence of continuing their unbeaten domestic and European form.
Pre-match expectations favoured the visitors but also acknowledged the volatility of the home side’s managerial change.
From the first whistle it was clear that Dyche’s Forest would not merely absorb Porto’s pressure: instead they would impose a physical, disciplined game-plan, and it bore fruit early. In the 19th minute, Porto’s Jan Bednarek handled in the penalty area under aerial pressure from Forest’s forward movement, and after a VAR review the penalty was awarded.
Captain Morgan Gibbs-White stepped up calmly, sending goalkeeper Diogo Costa the wrong way and giving Forest a lead to savour.
That early breakthrough changed the tone of the match. Forest — perhaps rusted by their recent form — nevertheless showed renewed application. They defended tightly, remained compact without the ball, and when Porto attempted to build, the hosts were ready to disrupt.
The home crowd, aware of the significance of the moment, roared their approval and sensed the first glimmer of a breakthrough in Europe: this was Forest’s first win in continental competition since 1995.
Porto did respond, and soon after half-time they thought they had equalised. A corner led to Bednarek slotting home, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for offside in the build-up.
It was a moment that might have sapped Forest’s resolve, but instead it galvanised them. Porto pressed, but rarely created clear-cut chances. Their superior ball-possession and passing statistics did not translate into genuine control of the match.
For all their dominance in Europe so far this season, they found themselves hemmed in more often than not. According to the match stats, Forest enjoyed 50.8% of possession versus Porto’s 49.2%.
As the minutes ticked on and the tension built, Forest remained disciplined. They made their changes carefully; when full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko limped off, the introduction of Nicolò Savona provided defensive stability without sacrificing the co-ordination of the back-line.
And with the crowd behind them, the pressure on Porto grew. In the 77th minute, it broke. Porto’s Nicolo Savona was penalised for a challenge on Forest’s movement; after a VAR check the spot-kick was awarded, and substitute Igor Jesus drilled the second goal into the net.
The moment felt inevitable, as if every minute of resistance had carved out that opening.
The remainder of the game allowed Forest to manage the momentum. They maintained their defensive shape, repelled Porto’s last efforts and, when needed, broke at speed to relieve pressure.
In post-match remarks, Morgan Gibbs-White admitted that he felt he “can finally breathe” again after months of frustration. Dyche himself was measured, praising his players for absorbing the change rapidly — he had arrived only days earlier, bringing with him trusted staff and a compact coaching philosophy built around intensity, balance and structure. “It’s a start,” he said, “but it’s a positive start.”
For Porto, the defeat will prompt serious introspection. Their attacking talent and ball-possession statistics suggest a side still capable of high performance, but on this night the failings were clear: when forced to defend under pressure, they lacked the ruthlessness to cut through the opposition; when the match hung in the balance, they faltered in discipline and concentration.
The VAR decisions compounded the issues, but ultimately it was Forest’s sharper edge that carried the day.
Looking ahead, Forest will hope to ride the wave of this win into their next League fixture — away at AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League — and build momentum to climb out of the relegation zone.