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 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.

Yet it was far from straightforward after Forest were caught on the break on 22 minutes, allowing Akturkoglu to fire in.

It put the City Ground on edge and, although Elliot Anderson 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.