Antony’s late goal denied Nottingham Forest a winning return to European football as Real Betis grabbed a 2-2 draw in their Europa League opener on Wednesday, while Roma won at Nice.
Forest, managed by Ange Postecoglou who won the tournament with Tottenham last season, are playing in Europe for the first time in 30 years.
They are only in the Europa League rather than the Conference League because English FA Cup winners Crystal Palace fell foul of UEFA’s rules governing multi-club ownership.
Last season’s Conference League runners-up Betis struck first in the 15th minute when Antony’s pass picked out Cedric Bakambu inside the area, before the veteran striker turned and fired the ball into the roof of the net.
But Forest levelled three minutes later as a sweeping move finished with Morgan Gibbs-White’s low ball across the face of goal being tapped in from close range by Igor Jesus.
Brazilian Igor Jesus, who scored his first goals for Forest since his summer move from Botafogo against Swansea last week, completed the turnaround midway through the first half with a clinical header from Douglas Luiz’s corner.
Postecoglou’s men threatened to seize complete control before half-time, as Igor Jesus twice went close to a hat-trick and Callum Hudson-Odoi hit a shot against the post.
Betis managed to stay in the game, though, and a period of late pressure paid dividends when Antony slotted in Marc Roca’s ball at the back post with five minutes remaining.
“I think first I should be proud of the players’ efforts. It’s a difficult place to come, difficult conditions,” Postecoglou, still waiting for his first win in charge since replacing the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo, told TNT Sports.
“The thing I could fault is we didn’t put the game to bed.”
Roma got their campaign for a first Europa League title under way with an impressive 2-1 victory at Nice.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s men, who have reached at least the semi-finals in three of the previous five seasons, secured a winning start thanks to two goals in the space of three second-half minutes from Evan Ndicka and Gianluca Mancini.
Terem Moffi pulled one back for Nice from the penalty spot with 13 minutes to play, but Roma held on.
Local authorities and prosecutors said 102 people identified as Roma ultras, many of whom caught with potential weapons, were arrested in the build-up to the game for intending to commit violence.
Celtic, playing in the competition for the first time since 2021 after an embarrassing loss to Kairat Almaty in Champions League qualifying, were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow former European champions Red Star Belgrade in Serbia.
A long spell of Celtic pressure at the start of the first half culminated in Kelechi Iheanacho’s second goal since signing on a free transfer from Sevilla earlier this month.
Red Star hit back, though, in the 65th minute as Marko Arnautovic turned in Franklin Tebo Uchenna’s cross.
Elsewhere, Dinamo Zagreb beat Fenerbahce 3-1 in the Croatian capital, while Bundesliga side Freiburg clinched a 2-1 home win over Basel.
AFP
