Real Betis 2-2 Nottingham Forest: Europa League Match Report and Player Ratings

Real Betis 2-2 Nottingham Forest: Europa League Match Report and Player Ratings

A sea of red dominance by Nottingham Forest was eventually navigated with spirit and passion by Real Betis, as a late equaliser from Antony stopped The Reds short of celebrating their European return with a win.

After Cedric Bakambu had opened the scoring early in the occasion, a rapid-fire fight-back led by new signing Igor Jesus had Forest in front in the blink of an eye. Ange Postecoglou, still chasing his first win as Forest manager, almost saw his side further in front amidst several more big chances, and a hit of the post for Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Betis Changes Spoil Forest's Party

The fixture was always going to be marketed as an emotional one for the visitors in this clash, as Nottingham Forest made their return to a European stage for the first time since the 95/96 season. Suitably, the away corner of the Estadio La Cartuja was in a rampant mood, matched by the vocal home support of last season's beaten UEFA Conference League finalists.

The action on the pitch matched that off-field intensity in the games opening moments, with stiff fouls from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Junior Firpo on the menu, as was one from Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White that saw him land in the referee's book after just a few opening minutes.

In terms of pure action, there wasn't too much to speak of in the opening 10 beyond the yellow card for Gibbs-White - a lose-ish backpass to Matz Sels from Ibrahim Sangare was almost capatilised upon by veteran Cedric Bakambu, Callum Hudson-Odoi sent a harmless range effort straight towards Pau Lopez in the host's net, and Gibbs-White lofted a hopeful header harmlessly off target from an awkward angle.

There was to be some tangible action to speak of just before the 15-minute mark, as a long-ball over the top of the Forest defence allowed Bakambu a sight of attack. The ball was worked back out to former Manchester United man Antony, who wriggled his way in from the right to find Bakambu again. After a smart swivel under pressure, the 34-year-old hammered home to open the scoring (after a quick VAR check).

Forest, not happy with their party being soured, had an immediate response for the Seville-based side through Igor Jesus. After Forest broke sharply down the left flank Elliot Anderson battled for a loose ball before Dougla Luiz found Gibbs-White in acres of space on the right-hand side. The Reds' capatin provided an inch-perfect low cross for Jesus, on his first Forest start, who rolled home the simplest of finishes to restore parity at a rate of knots.

As if that wasn't enough to mark a European debut, Jesus would be at the double through the help of a compatriot shortly after. After Forest got themselves a corner, Luiz would be on hand to deliver an inch-perfect in-swinging cross from the left-hand-flag, which Jesus would be on hand in the center of the box to power home with a perfect header, completing the Forest turnaround in sensational fashion.

Forest continued to dominate in a remarkable first 45 minutes of play, with Hudson-Odoi hitting the post amidst more opportunities for the likes of Elliot Anderson and Jesus again, but they held a one-goal advantage going in at the break.

As the second half commenced, both teams answered any questions posed with changes at the break - three for Betis, and one for Forest, as they adopted an even-more-attacking approach with Luiz withdrawn for winger Dilane Bakwa, allowing Gibbs-White to operate more centrally.

Betis seemed to wake up with the changes, as they controlled the game far easier than Forest had allowed them to in the first 45, as The Reds became a touch sloppy with their passing and possession than previously displayed. Antony and substitute Marc Roca saw attempts at goal sail just over or blocked as the hosts began to have an influence on proceedings, countering Forest's threats to run away with things beforehand.

As Betis continued to make their presence felt through the second half, it would be another substitute in Pablo Fornals, formally of West Ham United, who made Forest sweat again with a powerful ranged effort that Sels was grateful to see over as the game entered it's final 15 minutes.

The Betis pressure would have something tangible to show for it, as long as they were made to wait, and it was Antony on hand to restore parity with only five minutes remaining of regular time. After Marc Roca infilitrated a rare gap offered in the Forest backline, the Spaniard fired across the box through deflections before the ball was offered up to the Brazilian in enough space to direct an equaliser beyond a helpless Sels. The goal had been coming from the hosts, who's changing plans at halftime had now managed to pay off.

Betis would keep pushing as Forest hung on, but a pulsating Europa League opener for both sides was brought to an end at 2-2.

Match Highlights

Real Betis Player Ratings

GK - Pau Lopez - 6/10

Fairly helpless to either of Jesus' first-half finishes, and was accurate with the majority of his distribution.

RB - Angel Ortiz - 8/10

Showed plenty of attacking grit coming forward from the defence, and managed to keep Hudson-Odoi quiet enough in the first half. Worked nicely in tight spaces and seemed to have enough stamina to play two games.

CB - Natan - 5/10

Had a couple of chances from centre-back to equalise in the second half. Other than that, in regards to his main job, defended with strength and poise through the second half, but was inequal to Jesus' movement for 1-1, and was the man to lose Jesus again as Forest went ahead.

CB - Valentin Gomez - 6/10

Showed a bit more fortitude than his partner Natan, and offered few scraps for Forest to feed from after the interval.

LB - Junior Firpo - 4/10

Seemed to be on a mission to give Gibbs-White as much room as physically possible. Didn't offer much resistance at all before his half-time withdrawal, and offered less going forward.

CM - Sergi Altimira - 5/10

Was toyed with at times by Anderson, but who wasn't?

Didn't have too much of an impact before being withdrawn at the interval.

CM - Sofyan Amrabat - 6/10

The most combative operator in the Betis midfielder, who managed to break things up nicely through the opening exchanges of the second half. Very physical display, as a credit to him.

AM - Giovani Lo Celso - 8/10

Offered plenty of threat in spells through the game, with cute give-and-go's that had Forest worried at times. Rarely gave the ball away in attacking moments, and linked up well with his attacking colleagues when needed.

RW - Antony - 9/10

Made the most of his first opportunity to make an impact, driving in from the right and laying on a nice assist for Bakambu. Was Betis' biggest strength in an attacking sense, for the most part, and worked effortlessly for every ball. Was then the man to restore parity for Betis, arrowing home a sharp, late finish to get the game back to level-pegging.

Really does not look to be the same Antony that Manchester United once had on their books.

LW - Abdessamad Ezzalzouli - 5/10

Had a fairly inconsequential game. Plenty involved in 50/50 battles, but was kept quiet by Williams until a half-time withdrawal.

ST - Cedric Bakambu - 7/10

Made a nuisance of himself right at the start of the game, giving a few fouls away as he legged it for every lose ball. Infilitrated a pocket in the Forest defence on his way to firing home the first goal of the night smoothly. From there, kept quiet enough by Milenkovic and Morato. Hell of a finish for 1-0, though.

Sub 1 - Rodrigo Riquelme - 6/10

Plenty more of an impact on the left of the attack than Ezzalzouli had managed against Williams, keeping Williams busy on several occasions with pace and skill.

Sub 2 - Ricardo Rodriguez - 6/10

The veteran offered more defensive fortitude than his predecessor at left-back, which allowed Betis a bit more control in the second half.

Sub 3 - Marc Roca - 8/10

Offered a good deal of threat coming on, as did many of Betis' options from the bench. Provided the play that allowed Antony to level things to 2-2 late in the day.

Sub 4 - Cucho Hernandez - 5/10

Kept pretty quiet for the most part of his 20 minutes on the field, but did manage to trouble Sels with a fairly un-threatening shot on goal from the angle.

Sub 5 - Pablo Fornals - 8/10

Was direct and driven to getting Betis back level, offering just as much threat as predecessor Lo Celso had managed. Almost got Betis level earlier than they did with a solid effort from long-range.

Nottingham Forest Player Ratings

GK - Matz Sels - 6/10

Didn't have a great deal to do for the most part, and was helpless for the two goals that Betis grabbed eventually.

RB - Neco Williams - 7/10

Captain consistent in this Forest team, with a steady, solid display on the right of the backline.

CB - Nikola Milenkovic - 6/10

Kept far busier in the second half than he was in the first. Made a few incisive interventions when needed, but did allow a couple of small gaps in the backline that gave Betis hope in stages.

CB - Morato - 6/10

Was left a little bit exposed in the buildup to Betis' opening goal, and gave the ball away on one or two occasions, but generally put in a solid display with several key interventions. Performed with competence in replacement for regular starter Murillo.

LB - Oleksandr Zinchenko - 7/10

His positioning was called into question on a small amount of occasions, but muscled in with a few good challenges and was mostly composed.

CM - Ibrahim Sangare - 6/10

Guilty of a few giveaways from time to time, which Betis sought encouragement from at times, but was sharp enough to provide some key bits of defensive play. Kept things ticking nicely with his colleagues in midfield.

CM - Douglas Luiz - 7/10

Delivered a perfect corner to assist Jesus' second of the night, after playing a big part in the goal that had got Forest level before. Kept things ticking right through the first half, before being withdrawn with a hamstring issue at half-time.

CM - Elliot Anderson - 9/10

Good grief, this boy is good.

A performance from Anderson that you would expect by now. Full of willing and graft, but paired with the grace of a ballet dancer with a ball at his feet. Turned things over for Forest in the tight areas with grace.

LM - Callum Hudson-Odoi - 6/10

Teased Lopez from time to time with his traditional shots in off the left, and showed plenty of threat with a few enticing crosses, and also hit the post as Forest threatened a third (though he may not have known much about it). Kept Ortiz busy enough in the Betis defence. Decent enough display.

RM - Morgan Gibbs-White - 7/10

Was plenty involved in the early stages with several drives down the right. Provided a perfect cross just after Forest went behind to give Jesus the easiest goal of his career.

ST - Igor Jesus - 9/10

What a way to make your European debut.

On hand with a clever bit of movement to tap home an immediate equaliser, before following up almost immediately after with a powerful header to place Forest into the ascendancy. Goals aside, pressed for every single ball possible, and made a huge impact on the game.

Sub 1 - Dilane Bakwa - 6/10

Had a few opportunities to display his pace on skill down the right-hand side. Drew a few fouls, and generally kept himself busy.

Sub 2 - Dan Ndoye - 5/10

A rating more to do with consequence than performance - the Swiss winger didn't get much of a chance to make an impact as Forest dug in amongst the sudden Betis threat.

Sub 3 - Arnaud Kalimuendo - 4/10

His first touch seemed to get away from him on several occasions. Made a few sharp runs into the channel, the most threatening of which was let down by aforementioned touch.

Sub 4 - Ryan Yates - N/A

Wasn't on long enough to have an impact on the game. A symbolic substitution from Forest, though.

Sub 5 - Willy Boly - N/A

Was only on for a few seconds at the end.

Man Of The Match - Elliot Anderson

There were plenty of options for this, so it would be remiss of me not to mention the performances of Igor Jesus and Antony as well, who both helped themselves to two goal contributions each across this 2-2 draw.

Anderson, however, was a joy to behold on both sides of the coin. His prowess in possession and ability to find room in the tightest of spaces was a key aspect to Forest's first-half dominance, and his prolific and combative defending helped them navigate the second-half storm from Betis for as long as they could.

Am I being biased as a Nottingham Forest fan? ...Yes.