Soccer
Nottingham Forest’s hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League were dealt a blow after they slipped to a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford on Thursday.
The Bees, who are still in with a slim chance of snatching a European place of their own, scored once in each half at the City Ground to keep their hopes alive.
Brentford started brightly and should have taken the lead through Sepp van den Berg, who saw an unmarked, close-range header tipped away by Matz Sels.
Kevin Schade broke the deadlock just before the break. Ola Aina slipped in the box as he misjudged the bounce of Nathan Collins’ long pass, and the German coolly slotted it past Sels, who had come off his line.
Anthony Elanga drove down the left in the second half, but was denied a solo goal by Mark Flekken, who got down quickly to tip his shot wide.
Hopes of a Forest comeback were ended in the 70th minute, though, as Yoane Wissa doubled Brentford’s advantage. He lifted a delicate finish over the Forest goalkeeper after the hosts failed to deal with Flekken’s long ball.
Forest missed the chance to move third in the Premier League, remaining sixth, behind Chelsea on goal difference, while Brentford stay 11th, just two points off eighth-place Fulham.
What. A. Performance. pic.twitter.com/7Rrx4RWBEk
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 1, 2025
Data Debrief: Brentford enjoy their travels
After a torrid run on the road at the start of this season, Brentford are looking to finish strong.
They have won six of their last eight Premier League away games (D1 L1), as many as in their previous 30 beforehand.
Wissa scored for the third consecutive game in the competition to make sure of the three points, and Flekken’s assist for it was the ninth time a goalkeeper has assisted a Premier League goal in 2024-25.
It is the most ever in a single season in the competition, overtaking eight in 1992-93 and 2007-08.
As for Forest, this defeat may have taken their Champions League hopes out of their own hands. They have suffered back-to-back home defeats without scoring in the league for the first time since December 2023 under Steve Cooper.
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