Cho Gue-Sung came off the bench to secure Midtjylland a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday.

Forest had their chances, but could not convert them despite their home advantage, giving them a deficit to overturn in next week's second leg.

Midtjylland started brightly, and Matz Sels was left helpless against Junior Brumado's header, but Murillo was well-placed on the line to clear it away.

Forest turned up the pressure after that, with Omari Hutchinson forcing Elias Olafsson into a smart stop shortly after, while Igor Jesus prodded wide on the stretch.

Elliot Anderson also drew a good save out of Olaffson from distance, with Jesus seeing a header cleared off the line in the next phase after Midtjylland failed to clear their lines.

Forest were quick out of the blocks in the second half, with Nicolas Dominguez and Callum Hudson-Odoi both firing off target amid torrential rain at the City Ground.

Valdemar Byskov then crashed a shot off the bar from range out of nowhere, but after Forest wasted more opportunities, Midtjylland made them pay in the 80th minute.

Cho Gue-Sung drifted away from his marker in the box and cushioned Ousmane Diao's right-sided cross past Sels and into the bottom-right corner to secure the victory.

Data Debrief: Forest made to rue profligacy

Despite losing the first leg, Forest were on top for long periods, finishing the game with 22 shots worth 1.76 expected goals (xG), while Midtjylland managed just six (0.69 xG).

However, only six of those were on target, and they created just one 'big' chance as they struggled to break down their visitors.

Midtjylland have proven they are tough to keep quiet, though, and only Stuttgart (six) have scored more goals from the 80th minute onwards than them in the Europa League this season.

This was the second meeting between these sides this season, with Midtjylland coming out on top in both – they have now won five of their 10 matches against English sides in European competition (D2 L3).