Round of 16 Europa League: Premier League team wins thrilling penalty shootout

The eight teams advancing to the Europa League quarter-finals have been confirmed following the second leg of the round of 16 matches played early this morning. Among them, Nottingham Forest secured a dramatic victory in a penalty shootout.

Nottingham Forest qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals after Midtjylland missed all three penalties in the shootout during the second leg of the round of 16.

Coach Vitor Pereira's team won 2-1 after 120 minutes at the MCH Arena (Denmark) thanks to goals from Nicolas Dominguez and Ryan Yates, thus leveling the aggregate score to 2-2 after two legs. Recall that in the first leg, Midtjylland won 1-0, but in the second leg, the Premier League representative performed better.

In the penalty shootout, Cho Gue-sung and Aral Simsir both hit the post, while Edward Chilufya slipped and shot over. On Forest's side, Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare, and Neco Williams all succeeded, helping the club extend their first European journey since the 1995-96 season, when they reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Nottingham Forest will face FC Porto or Stuttgart in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Celta Vigo defeated Lyon 2-0 on French soil, thus winning 3-1 overall. Lyon, the group stage leaders, were reduced to 10 men from the 19th minute when Senegalese defender Moussa Niakhate was sent off after fouling Javi Rueda.

Rueda, who also scored in the first leg, capitalized on the numerical advantage to score a close-range goal in the 61st minute.

Ferran Jutgla sealed the victory in stoppage time, before Lyon's Nicolas Tagliafico received a second yellow card and was dismissed.

Celta Vigo will face Freiburg in the quarter-finals, after the German team crushed Genk 5-1 to win 5-2 overall. Matthias Ginter opened the scoring for Freiburg in the 19th minute, before Igor Matanovic doubled the lead six minutes later.

Matte Smets reduced the deficit for Genk in the 39th minute, but Freiburg soon decided the match with goals from Vincenzo Grifo (53rd minute) and Yuito Suzuki (56th minute). Maximilian Eggestein completed the emphatic victory in the 79th minute.

Aston Villa overcame Lille with a 2-0 home victory. Aston Villa's two goals were scored in the second half by McGinn (54') and Bailey (85'). The Premier League team advances with an aggregate score of 3-0.

At home, Real Betis defeated Panathinaikos 4-0 thanks to goals from Ruibal, Amrabat, Cucho Hernandez, and Antony. Overall, Antony's team advances with an aggregate score of 4-1 and will face Braga in the quarter-finals.

Bologna defeated AS Roma 4-3 away after 120 minutes of play. The goal chase was thrilling as the two teams drew 3-3 in regular time. Bologna led 2-1 in the first half thanks to Rowe and Bernardeschi. In the second half, Roma scored two goals from Malen and Pellegrini, while the visitors only added one, forcing the match into extra time. Cambiaghi scored in the 111th minute, helping Bologna secure a 4-3 victory and advance with an aggregate score of 5-4. Bologna will face Aston Villa in the next round.

Match result

SC Freiburg 5–1 KRC Genk

Lyon 2–2 Celta Vigo

FC Midtjylland 1–2 Nottingham Forest (pen 0-3)

AS Roma 3–4 Bologna

Aston Villa 2–0 Lille

Real Betis 4–0 Panathinaikos

FC Porto 2–0 VfB Stuttgart

Europa League quarter-final matchups