Already for Ange Postecoglou it feels like an interminable wait. Just as it seemed he would record his first victory as Nottingham Forest manager in a competition he won last season, Antony levelled for Real Betis to kill the impending party.
Igor Jesus scored twice as Forest recovered from Cédric Bakambu’s opener and hit the woodwork in pursuit of a first-half hat-trick but the former Manchester United winger, derided in some quarters after struggling in the Premier League, struck a 85th-minute equaliser.
Compared to the capitulation last Wednesday in altogether different surroundings at Swansea, this was nothing – the Championship club scored in the 93rd and 97th minute to earn a comeback Carabao Cup victory – but it was a galling finish all the same.
Forest under Postecoglou have so far been a double-edged proposition but the overriding feeling for the travelling fans at the final whistle – about 5,000 flocked to Seville, 3,385 were stationed up in the gods in the away end – was probably pride. “Europe again, olé, olé,” they sang as the players headed in their direction.
The most appetising takeaway was undoubtedly Igor Jesus’s first goal, a slick team move and an explicit example of Postecoglou’s vision. “I guess that’s the challenge: to make sure the players don’t drop their heads because we’re not getting the victories,” the Australian said. “Some of the football we played was outstanding.”
This was a big moment, Forest’s first competitive game on the European stage since March 1996 and, as Postecoglou highlighted, finally an opportunity for the generations of supporters who have heard the stories of yesteryear but not lived the experiences. The thing Postecoglou now craves is that first win and Forest will hope it comes at the fifth time of asking, when Sunderland visit the City Ground for his first home game. “We are in a results business and ultimately we need to convert our good into victories,” Postecoglou said. “If one goes in off one of the boys’ backsides, I won’t be disappointed with that either because we’re missing a bit of luck.”
The Forest fans sang about trips to Gillingham, Huddersfield, Hull and Rotherham; five years ago on Thursday they lost 1-0 at Huddersfield, with Ryan Yates, a late substitute here, the sole survivor from the squad that day. Evangelos Marinakis has spent millions furnishing the squad since, including £200m this summer so that the squad could compete on all fronts, and amid the celebrations after promotion three years ago, the Greek billionaire vowed to return Forest to Europe. “Sometimes you don’t see the future because you always talk about the past,” he said.
Consider this a vision fulfilled, then, Marinakis present as Igor Jesus became Forest’s goalscorer in Europe since Steve Stone’s consolation against Bayern Munich 29 years ago.
Betis began quicker and gained the lead after quarter of an hour, Antony skating past Morato and punching a pass into Bakambu, who blasted high into the top corner of Matz Sels’s goal. But they had the upper hand for just three minutes, Igor Jesus applying a simple finishing touch to a wonderful Forest move.
The half-time substitute Kelechi Iheanacho fired Celtic ahead in Belgrade before the Scottish champions had to settle for a point against Red Star in their Europa League opener. Iheanacho finished brilliantly as Celtic made a flying start to the second half but they were pegged back by former West Ham, Stoke and Inter forward Marko Arnautovic, who scrambled the ball home after a corner.
Brendan Rodgers’ side could not get back on the front foot and would have been more than satisfied to take a 1-1 draw back from Serbia given the overall balance of play in the Rajko Mitic Stadium.
Iheanacho had replaced Daizen Maeda at half-time after the Japan international struggled in the centre-forward role. Celtic had failed to make any chances from open play by half-time but they immediately improved, forcing three saves before Iheanacho took an excellent touch in the box and stroked the ball into the top corner in the 55th minute.
On the performance of Maeda, who was denied a summer move because of the club's failure to source an adequate replacement, Rodgers told BT Sport: "He wasn't at his best, or nowhere near it. However, he's a good guy and sometimes that happens in the game. I could have made a couple of changes at half-time. I wanted to make that one certainly to give us that greater reference at the top of the pitch. I thought Kels coming in was very, very good for us.
"We needed someone centrally to hold the ball up. I felt that we arrived into the final third in the first half and then we were either loose with the ball or didn't hold the ball up.
"It's one of Kels' great strengths. He can take the ball in, he can use his body well and obviously allows you to progress up the pitch. So he gave us a really much better platform in the second half."
Roma began their campaign with a 2-1 victory at Nice, sparked by quickfire goals from defenders Evan N'Dicka and Gianluca Mancini within three minutes early in the second half, after a cautious and uneventful opening period.
Terem Moffi pulled one back for the hosts from the penalty spot in the 77th minute after Niccolo Pisilli brought down Antoine Mendy inside the area, setting up a tense finish, but Nice could not find the equaliser despite late pressure.
Nice captain Dante became the oldest outfield player in the competition's history at 41. Portuguese side Braga celebrated a 1-0 home victory over Feyenoord, sealed by Fran Navarro's decisive strike in the 79th minute. PA Media, Reuters
Forest shifted the ball from left to right, Oleksandr Zinchenko, the left-back having floated to the edge of the opposition 18-yard box, and Elliot Anderson playing one-touch passes before Douglas Luiz located Morgan Gibbs-White, playing on the right of a three-pronged attack. Gibbs‑White slid a diagonal ball across goal and Igor Jesus converted from inside the six-yard box. Postecoglou retreated towards the away dugout, applauding as he went, and more joy followed five minutes later. Douglas Luiz whipped an inswinging corner into the box and Igor Jesus headed in.
Forest were in control after acquainting themselves and at half‑time they could reflect on 13 shots to Betis’s one, with Igor Jesus, who also scored twice at Swansea, rattling a post as he came within inches of a 14-minute hat-trick. Forest were rampant and should have extended their lead. Arnaud Kalimuendo, who replaced the cautioned Igor Jesus, fluffed his lines as Forest soared upfield; Zinchenko ignored Dan Ndoye, another substitute, to his left and instead fed Kalimuendo, whose first touch hindered his progress.
The size of the task facing Forest was clear at the outset given Betis, eighth in La Liga, had lost just one of their previous 18 home games in European competition. The Betis substitute Pablo Fornals flashed a shot wide and it proved a warning sign the visitors did not heed. Natan, the centre-back, then made a mess of a golden chance a minute later, but Antony seized his.
