Real Betis Vs Nottingham Forest [2-2] UEFA Europa League 2025/2026: Clinical Betis Punish Wasteful Forest – Tactical Analysis

Nottingham Forest played their first European football match after 30 years of absence, but were not capable of getting the three points against the Spanish side Real Betis, who managed to snatch a 2-2 draw in the final minutes of the game.

Nottingham Forest did their best to win the game.

Under new manager Ange Postecoglou, they showed some very positive attacking signs, especially during the first half.

Still, they failed to convert the chances they created, especially after scoring their two goals.

Failing to add a third goal when they had the opportunity to do so was Nottingham Forest’s biggest mistake in this match, costing them two points.

NFFC inability to end the game early kept Real Betis’ hopes alive, which allowed them to come back later on and score the equalising goal despite not being able to dominate the game or consistently threaten Nottingham Forest’s goal during the second half.

Nevertheless, this did not stop them from scoring their second goal as they knew how to be clinical despite not creating as many chances as their opponent.

That said, the draw does not serve either team, as both were trying to start their UEFA Europa League journey with a win that would give them the advantage and allow them to approach their upcoming games with less pressure.

This tactical analysis of the match between Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville, Spain, will focus on Nottingham Forest’s finishing issues and assess Ange Postecoglou’s substitutions and their impact on the game.

Real Betis Vs Nottingham Forest Formations & Lineups

Manuel Pellegrini started the match in a 4-4-2 formation, which changed to a 4-2-3-1 formation, primarily depending on Giovani Lo Celso’s movements.

He alternated between playing as a second striker at times and as an advanced playmaker behind the striker at other times.

He used Pau López as a goalkeeper, and a defence formed of Natan and Valentín Gómez as centre-backs, Junior Firpo as a left-back, before getting replaced by Ricardo Rodríguez during the second half, and Ángel Ortiz as a right-back.

Sergi Altimira and Sofyan Amrabat, who is on loan at Real Betis from Turkish side Fenerbahçe, were in the midfield.

Pellegrini relied on the indispensable Antony as a right winger on both wings and Abde Ezzalzouli on the left wing.

Ezzalzouli’s performance during the first half was not convincing.

He was mainly unable to make the difference through his penetrations and dribbles like he was used to, mainly because Nottingham Forest’s defence was ready for him.

Their defensive players closed him down on almost every occasion, succeeding in limiting his threat.

At the same time, we cannot argue that Rodrigo Riquelme‘s substitution made the difference for Real Betis, as the level and impact of both players were not massive in this match.

However, Riquelme was able to add more freshness to the left wing, as he was capable of touching the ball more and being involved in most of the team’s attacking actions. This was particularly noticeable during the second half, when Real Betis looked better.

Overall, Antony’s individual talent in terms of dribbling and cutting inside, and striker Cédric Bakambu’s excellent finishing made the difference for Real Betis.

They allowed themselves to snatch a draw without being very convincing in their attacking play, as they were confronted by a very organised defence that limited the team’s penetration attempts and shots on goal.

On the other hand, Postecoglou preferred to start the match using a 4-1-4-1 formation with Matz Sels as a goalkeeper, and a defence composed of Nikola Milenković and Morato as centre-backs, Neco Williams and Arsenal’s loanee Oleksandr Zinchenko as left-backs.

Nottingham Forest’s defence can be considered remarkably solid during this match.

They conceded little space and time for Real Betis’ attacking players to create their chances, successfully limiting the number of their shots and attacks despite conceding two goals.

In midfield, the team relied on Ibrahim Sangaré as a defensive midfielder, Elliot Anderson and Douglas Luiz as central midfielders, with Morgan Gibbs-White as a right winger and Callum Hudson-Odoi as a left winger.

Some of Postecoglou’s changes were not successful.

They should not have been made mainly because players like Hudson-Odoi and Igor Jesus, who was the team’s starting main striker instead of Chris Wood, were making the difference and causing Real Betis a lot of problems.

It was evident that Hudson-Odoi was involved in most of Nottingham Forest’s attacking attempts from the wing and that he was very dynamic and useful on that side.

Replacing him with Dan Ndoye, who was out of form and did not enter the match well, impacted Nottingham Forest’s potential attacking actions and eventually made it more complicated for them to create dangerous opportunities.

Furthermore, Postecoglou’s decision to substitute the player who scored twice in this game for Arnaud Kalimuendo, who does not offer the same quality upfront, was not a successful choice either, mainly because he had a more powerful striker on the bench if the aim was to rest Jesus.

The fact that Nottingham Forest have to play another Premier League game on Saturday might explain starting with Jesus instead of Wood.

Still, it cannot be used as an excuse to not use Wood at all in a decisive match against a tough Spanish team and take risks by playing Kalimuendo during the last 26 minutes, despite knowing that Nottingham Forest have not guaranteed the win yet.

The missed opportunity by Kalimuendo during the last minutes of the game is very telling, as it highlights the fact that Kalimuendo was used at the wrong time and that it would have been wiser to keep Jesus.

He was very confident following the two goals he scored and would have added a third goal if he had had this opportunity.

Otherwise, avoiding risks by substituting a more reliable and experienced striker, such as Wood, for Jesus would have also been the most logical choice, given the match’s circumstances.

Nottingham Forest Attacking Performance: Goals & Errors

Nottingham Forest conceded a goal early in the game, which helped them attack and create more determined actions to get back on the scoresheet.

Nottingham Forest Collective Passing & Positioning Teamwork

Following the conceded goal, Nottingham Forest launched their first concerted attacks and were quickly able to score the equalising goal, thanks to a long and fruitful period of ball possession.

Huddson-Odoi, who lost his direct marker with a quick dribble, passed the ball to Zinchenko inside the box.

Zinchenko attracted Real Betis’ defenders and gave a backward pass to Anderson.

Then Luiz got the ball and quickly passed it to Gibbs-White on the right wing.

At the same time, Jesus accelerated to position himself in a suitable goalscoring spot.

Nottingham Forest’s first goal was, therefore, scored thanks to collective passing and positioning teamwork, which made it easier for Gibbs-White to provide the through pass/cross to Jesus and for the latter to score.

The first goal gave Nottingham Forest a vital boost, making the team look more confident when in possession.

This led to recurrent attacks from Nottingham Forest, which relied mainly on short passing and crosses or penetrations from the wings in the direction of Jesus.

In fact, Nottingham Forest were also effective enough to exploit Real Betis’ defensive issues, especially during set-pieces.

They scored their second goal thanks to a corner-kick executed by Luiz and scored by Jesus, who confirmed for the second time during the same match that he knows exactly how to position himself inside the box while avoiding marking and finishing with accuracy.

However, despite these positives, Nottingham Forest had several other opportunities during the first half but were unable to score, missing chances that could have “killed” the game early.

Igor Jesus Missed Opportunity

The following opportunity example highlights the importance of Hudson-Odoi’s penetrations on that left wing.

His dribbling and penetration enabled him to get the ball to Anderson.

The latter’s attacking contribution was also valuable in this match, as he was usually present in the final third and helped add numerical superiority during his team’s attacks.

In this action, he received the ball inside the box, dribbled past two players, and provided a key pass to Jesus.

However, the latter was not quick enough to anticipate his marker’s clearance and was not attentive enough to exploit the wrong clearance since the defender gave him a pass by mistake.

Jesus failed to exploit the gift.

A few minutes later, Nottingham Forest missed another chance from a corner kick, failing to exploit Real Betis’ recurrent issues with marking during corners, since Hudson-Odoi was surprised that the cross reached him and was only capable of hitting the post, missing another crucial opportunity to add a third goal.

In fact, during the first half, Nottingham Forest made 13 attacking attempts while Real Betis made only one attempt, which highlights the high number of opportunities Nottingham Forest missed.

Nottingham Forest Efficient Switching Play

Despite the negative effects of the missed chances, another particularity helped Nottingham Forest be very dangerous whenever they attacked Real Betis’ area: their ability to switch from one wing to another using long passes, exploiting Real Betis’ compact defence that relied on concentrating on the middle and keeping the wide areas uncovered.

The following chance highlights how useful those long passes were for Nottingham Forest, as Hudson-Odoi’s long pass in this action freed Dilane Bakwa completely and allowed him to attempt a volley that could have been scored.

Arnaud Kalimuendo Miss

As mentioned above, substituting Kalimuendo for Jesus was not really the best decision at that time, when Nottingham Forest needed to secure the win with an additional goal and had the opportunity to do so.

This led to Kalimuendo’s first big chance following his substitution, as he failed to control the ball correctly when he received a key pass that put him in a very suitable goalscoring situation.

Unfortunately for him and Nottingham Forest, he was not able to deal with it properly due to poor control, missing the chance of the match.

Kalimuendo has some responsibility for missing this chance, and Postecoglou can also be blamed for not letting Jesus finish the game since he was still in form or for not replacing him with Wood, who could have given the team an extra attacking boost during those final minutes, given his experience in terms of finishing and maturity inside the box.

Conclusion

Overall, Nottingham Forest were good enough defensively to avoid conceding numerous attacking attempts from Real Betis despite playing an away game.

However, on an attacking level, the team can be much more decisive and needs to capitalize on the chances they create with a higher average.

It is true that creating many chances per game is already a very good sign, but working on improving the finishing aspect and becoming crucial in exploiting the opponent’s defensive mistakes will certainly make Nottingham Forest a more dangerous team this season.