Nervy Nottingham Forest edged past Fenerbahce to reach the last 16 of the Europa League.

Kerem Akturkoglu's double, including a second-half penalty, put the hosts in danger of blowing their 3-0 first-leg lead.

Callum Hudson-Odoi's strike eased fears of complete collapse as Vitor Pereira's side progressed despite a sloppy and tentative performance.

They will face either FC Midtjylland, who beat them in October to spark Ange Postecoglou's downfall, or Real Betis - against whom Forest drew 2-2 in Spain during the league phase.

"We move forward - I'm happy, we played under pressure. It was like a thriller - with suspense," said Pereira, who made six changes following Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool, with their next Premier League game at Brighton in mind.

"We were suffering a bit but we are in the moment of the season where we need to think not about one game but about the next game.

"I decided to take this risk [of six changes] because I need to think about the Brighton game [on Sunday], it is very important for us. We need to go there with fuel and energy. My decisions were not just about this game.

"We have ambition in the Europa League, it is to move forward to the next stage. We are not comfortable in the table in the Premier League and this is very important for us, to get the points to avoid a difficult situation."

Thursday's match was far from straightforward after Forest were caught on the break on 22 minutes, allowing Akturkoglu to fire in.

That put the City Ground on edge and, although Elliot Anderson went close when he shot wide, the hosts struggled to recover.

Pereira made four changes at the break, including withdrawing the ineffective James McAtee and Ryan Yates, but Jair Cunha conceded a penalty 25 seconds after the restart when he tripped Akturkoglu.

The striker converted the spot-kick to raise the anxiety levels, until Hudson-Odoi - one of the half-time substitutes - made it 4-2 on aggregate with a low finish 22 minutes from the end.

Omari Hutchinson could have made it 2-2 on the night but was denied by Tarik Cetin after running clean through late on.

"We are proud of the way we played, with personality and belief," said Fenerbahce coach Domenico Tedesco.

"At home, we lost the qualification, they changed the coach a few days before which changes things, they overperformed in our stadium, we underperformed.

"We have to accept we are out of the competition but at least with our heads up."

Nottingham Forest analysis: No surprise the hosts made it nervy

Given the theatrics of Nottingham Forest's season, it was not a surprise Fenerbahce made things uncomfortable.

With the visitors in the middle of an injury crisis, missing goalkeeper Ederson and only able to name seven substitutes, it should have been a routine evening.

Yet Forest were sloppy and should have been further behind at the break as even the consistent Anderson had an off night.

It looked as if head coach Pereira would have the luxury of resting Morgan Gibbs-White, Nikola Milenkovic and Hudson-Odoi after last week's 3-0 win in Turkey gave them a significant cushion.

But he needed to call on all three to ensure Forest reached the last 16 and win their first European knockout game for 30 years.

Pereira would have learned about the mental fragility of his Forest players as they continue their relegation battle in the Premier League.

Progress at least aids the momentum under Pereira, who is only two weeks into his reign, with Forest still in deep trouble domestically.

They are only two points above the relegation zone with 11 games left - one of the reasons Pereira was parachuted in to replace Sean Dyche this month - and so any energy from the Europa League is welcome.

What's next for these teams?

Nottingham Forest: Vitor Pereira's side go to Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday (14:00 GMT) before travelling to Manchester City on Wednesday (19:30).

Fenerbahce: They travel to Antalyaspor in the league on Sunday (17:00) and then face Gaziantep in the Turkish Cup next Wednesday. (BBC)

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