—- Nottingham Forest welcomed new manager Vitor Pereira by seizing a commanding 3-0 victory away to Fenerbahçe in the UEFA Europa League play-offs.

Pereira, who replaced Sean Dyche earlier this week, saw his team overcome a hostile atmosphere at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium by taking control through a clinical Igor Jesus brace.

The Brazilian forward has been the central figure of Forest’s European charge this season, and his double tonight took his continental tally to seven. Morgan Gibbs-White added a third shortly after the break, effectively turning the second half into a procession. Pereira’s tactical discipline was evident, and Forest now return to the City Ground with one foot firmly in the Round of 16.

The mood was significantly darker in the East End of Glasgow as Celtic fell to a demoralising 4-1 defeat against Stuttgart. Despite the return to management of Martin O’Neill – for whom this was a 1,000th game as a manager – the Hoops were undone by a clinical German side and a series of high-profile errors.

Bilal El Khannouss was the star for the visitors, netting twice. Benjamin Nygren momentarily restored hope with a well-taken equaliser – his 17th goal of the season – before Stuttgart’s superior movement eventually told. Goals from Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomás late on compounded the misery for Kasper Schmeichel, who had a night to forget between the posts.

Elsewhere in the Europa League, Genk secured an impressive 3-1 away win at Dinamo Zagreb, while Bologna edged out Brann 1-0. In France, Crvena Zvezda pulled off a shock 1-0 win against Lille.

In the UEFA Conference League, Crystal Palace faced a tricky trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming away with a 1-1 draw against Zrinjski Mostar. Ismaïla Sarr opened the scoring for the Eagles just before half-time, but they were pegged back by a second-half Karlo Abramović strike.

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