Ola Aina has hailed Nottingham Forest’s hard-fought win over FC Porto that sealed a place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
NOP NIGERIA reports that Nottingham Forest qualified for the next round of the competition after a 1-0 quarter-final second leg win at the City Ground on Thursday night, completing a 2-1 aggregate triumph against the side led by coach Francesco Farioli.
The decisive moment arrived early when Morgan Gibbs-White struck in the 12th minute to send the hosts through to the last four, where they would meet Aston Villa.
Porto’s task became more difficult after Jan Bednarek was dismissed inside eight minutes for a high challenge, leaving the visitors to battle with 10 men for most of the match.
Aina admitted Forest made life difficult for themselves despite the historic progress.
“We never made it easy for ourselves, but I cannot complain. We’re into the semifinals of the Europa League, so I’m happy with it,” he told Forest TV.
The Nigerian international completed the full 90 minutes and earned a 7.40 rating from BBC Sport after a disciplined defensive display.
The result marks Forest’s first European semi-final appearance since 1984. Porto also extended their barren run on English soil, having failed to win any of their previous 24 matches in the country.
Fellow Super Eagles stars Terem Moffi and Zaidu Sanusi featured for Porto but were withdrawn in the second half as Forest closed out the tie.
