NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Nottingham Forest and Stuttgart have won the Europa League play-offs and appeared on Thursday to be closing in on a spot in the Round of 16.
Both teams had a three-goal advantage in last week’s first leg.
Vitor Pereira made an impact in his first game in charge, leading Nottingham to a 3-0 win over Fenerbahce.
The English club is struggling in 17th place in the Premier League, but a win at the City Ground will give them an advantage. Nottingham returned to Europe this season for the first time in 30 years and have kept a clean sheet in their last three home games in Europe’s second tier.
Fenerbahce have won just one of their last 10 matches in England.
Stuttgart beat Celtic 4-1 in front of a packed Celtic Park, making it an unforgettable night for caretaker manager Martin O’Neill, who didn’t have much to celebrate in his 1,000th game as manager. O’Neill said Celtic have no intention of giving up.
“We want to go there and compete,” he said. “It would be a waste to throw it away, so let’s compete and see.”
Hosts Genk have their sights set on the next match, where they led Dinamo Zagreb 3-1, as did Bologna, who won 1-0 at home to Norwegian side Brann.
Ahead of the game in Belgrade, Celta holds a 2-1 lead over PAOK, while Lille are led 1-0 by Red Star.
In the third division of the Conference League, Crystal Palace have work to do at home after losing 1-1 to Zrinjski Mostar in Bosnia.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
