After a rollercoaster season of high drama and uncertainty, Nottingham Forest were never going to do it the easy way.
Three different managers have taken their games in the Europa League, while the man who helped them return to the competition – Nuno Espirito Santo – was sacked before it even started.
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Yet it is Vitor Pereira who is preparing for the round of 16 after an excruciatingly nervy evening which almost ended his honeymoon period in record time.
For more than an hour Fenerbahce were on course for their very own “Miracle of Istanbul”, threatening to repeat Liverpool’s remarkable Champions League final triumph over AC Milan in 2005.
That Liverpool team famously recovered a three-goal deficit and here the team from the Turkish city put Pereira and Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis through the wringer.
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After such a chaotic campaign it was never going to be straightforward and Forest required a goal from substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi 22 minutes from time to finally ease the tension.
Forest will face either Real Betis or FC Midtjylland in the round of 16.
Despite this uncomfortable experience, the Marinakis dream of winning the trophy remains alive.
The Greek billionaire invested almost £200m on new players last summer to give Forest the best possible chance of silverware.
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This was far removed from the 3-0 stroll at Fenerbahce in last week’s first leg. Hopes of a stress-free evening appeared remote from the start, despite facing a team afflicted by injuries and suspension.
Play was halted before a minute had even elapsed after flares were hurled onto the pitch by Fenerbahce supporters.
Ismail Yuksek, the Fenerbahce captain, ran over to the away end, appearing to plead for calm.
Fenerbahce’s Archie Brown asks the fans not to throw any more flares on the pitch after the first landed but another soon followed – Mike Egerton/PA
It clearly disrupted the home team and there was a whiff of inevitability when Fenerbahce took a 22nd-minute lead.
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Pereira will have been furious with mistakes from Morato and Neco Williams, with Kerem Akturkoglu capitalising on Sidiki Cherif’s cross to beat Stefan Ortega.
Suddenly there was panic in the City Ground air and Forest were wobbling.
Fenerbahce almost feasted on a second error, this time from Elliot Anderson after a poor backpass, but Cherif directed his shot into the side netting.
As Forest continued to appear jumpy, Cherif squandered another chance on the stroke of half-time with a tame shot straight at Ortega.
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From a position of comfort, Forest were now in danger. They were booed off at half-time, fortunate not to be further behind.
Pereira responded by making four changes, introducing Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ibrahim Sangaré, Igor Jesus and Ola Aina.
Two of the players replaced, James McAtee and Lorenzo Lucca, had performed poorly in what will be another damning indictment on Forest’s recruitment.
Yet the second half had only resumed when Forest fell further behind. Jair Cunha’s foul on Akturkoglu in the area was unnecessary and the Fenerbahce forward stroked home the penalty.
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The momentum seemed to be with the visiting team, but Forest settled the nerves of their supporters with a response in the 68th minute.
It was a goal from Hudson-Odoi which put Forest back in control, turning a left-footed shot past Tarik Cetin.
That moment proved enough, and Forest will now prepare for a crucial Premier League game at Brighton on Sunday. As always with this club, expect the unexpected.
10:32pm
And finally, here’s Vitor Pereira talking to TNT Sports
When you change half the team it’s not easy to keep the level. We have a game in three days, an important game for us, I decided to give some players time to recover to have energy in the next game. It is not easy. We concede a goal and lost the confidence to play. It was difficult to do four subs in half-time. I spoke with them and it was my decision. We had to do it because the game was in a dangerous situation for us.
They started the second half and scored the second goal [but] then we started to play at our level and created the chance to score one, two, three. We had big chances against the goalkeeper [Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson] one-on-one… We have to keep this in mind.
Europa League is not easy. The teams come here to fight for the result.
For me I know I am conscious that if you change five [sic] players you don’t know what happens. Maybe if we score the first goal we would have had the confidence but when the pressure starts to come, under stress the five new players it is hard to be themselves because they are not playing [many matches].
In the end we are in the competition. We won the game there, today the second-half we controlled the game and the result. Let’s move forward and think about Brighton [on Sunday].
10:16pm
Callum Hudson-Odoi speaks to TNT Sports
We made it difficult for ourselves. We showed a great reaction after they scored the second goal and the important thing is we’re through.
In situations like that when they’ve scored a couple of goals the thing to do is calm it down and focus on what we know, create chances, we’ve got to keep working hard, focusing on the little things.
We couldn’t do that today [win] but we go again on Sunday. We focus day in day out and keep working hard.
10:00pm
Full time: Nottingham Forest 1 Fenerbahce 2
Forest go through 4-2 on aggregate, conquering the wobbles at 2-0 down by throwing on their better players who grew into the game and showed their quality, pace and urgency the longer it went on.
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Forest will play Midtjylland or Real Betis in the Round of 16, finding out whether it’s Denmark or Spain at noon in tomorrow’s draw.
09:57pm
90+3 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Hudson-Odoi hams up his shoulder pain after falling awkwardly when fouled by Semedo.
09:54pm
90+1 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Morato heads over from Hudson-Odoi’s cross from the left after the corner.
Four minutes of stoppage time are signalled by the fourth official.
09:53pm
89 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Hutchinson goes off on a solo break of his won after Ortega parries Asensio’s vicious low shot. But after sprinting 70 yards he doesn’t have the composure to put the ball either side of Cetin and the keeper makes a good save at the cost of a corner.
09:52pm
86 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Aina and Sangare smother a one-man break down the right from Ekici. But then Forest lose the ball with a wayward pass, Fenerbahce flood forward and Mercan thumps a left-foot shot from 20 yards wid eof the right post, thudding into the advertising boards.
09:47pm
83 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Kante is still a terrific player, covering acres and always prompting when on the ball.
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Gibbs-White → Dominguez.
09:45pm
82 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Muldur is penalised for fouling Hutchinson and Forest eat up some time before restarting.
09:44pm
80 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Cetin makes a good save at close range with his right arm after Igor Jesus’s lovely flick took him past Guendouzi and down the left of the penalty area. Vitor Pereira bounces on to his feet and curses him for going for power rather than a dink.
09:42pm
78 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Ekici → Brown
Mercan → Cherif.
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Fenerbahce have only one outfield player left on the bench.
09:40pm
76 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Forest crowd Kante out though and counter down the left. Hudson-Odoi sees a path to goal and goes straight for it, ramming a right-foot shot past the right post. He was hoping to bend it it in but it continued on the straight and narrow.
09:39pm
74 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
Anderson is having a rare off night with his passing, adding a poor one straight to Kante to three or maybe four that preceded it.
09:36pm
71 min: Forest 1 Fener 2
The unusual thing about the Forest goal was that the home fans were becoming exasperated by a longish spell of possession that seemed to have no attacking purpose but they were just probing. And when they added the quick-quick to the slow-slow, they scored, changing the mood isntantly.
09:31pm Video • Goals
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GOAL!
Forest 1 Fener 2 (Hudson-Odoi) Big outswinging cross from the right, picking out Hudson-Odoi perfectly. He kills the dipping ball to the left of the penalty spot then fires a left-foot shot via a deflection into the bottom right corner.
09:31pm
67 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Angus Gunn is warming up. The problem for Forest is that they have already made four subs and if they have to replace Ortega they won’t be able to make any more (unless there’s extra time).
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Forest have a spell of possession.
09:29pm
65 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Treatment for Akturkoglu and Aina after a shin on shin collision.
09:26pm
63 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Aina picks Ismail’s pocket and sends Hutchinson down the right but he overhits his deep cross from the byline and Fenerbahce clear.
Marco Asensio → Oguz Aydin
09:24pm
61 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Marco Asensio is stripped and ready to come on.
Are we heading for Fenerbahce’s very own version of the Miracle of Istanbul here?
That tag belongs to Liverpool’s infamous triumph over AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, when Rafael Benitez’s team recovered from a three-goal deficit.
It certainly appears a distinct possibility right now.
09:22pm
59 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Ortega is going to carry on.
09:22pm
57 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Ortega sprints out of his box to stop a long ball over the top reaching Cherif and seemingly blows a calf muscle after trying but failing to boot the ball into touch. I think it’s the left one.
09:20pm
56 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Semedo blocks Hudson-Odoi’s cross and Forest will have a corner on the left. Hudson-Odoi has made McAtee look like a fish out of water on the wing. Anderson’s cross from the corner is staright down Cetin’s throat.
09:18pm
55 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Ismail Yuksuk smacks a shot into Morato after Cherif’s tenacity causes some chaos around the Forest 18-yard line.
09:17pm
53 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Williams flays a right-foot riser from the left of the box just over the angle of right post and crossbar.
09:17pm
51 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Forest’s best move of the match. Hutchinson injects some urgency with a quick pass after a surge upfield. He picks out Jesus who lays it off to Aina hurtling down the right. Hudson-Odoi made a clever run, ghosting in from the left towards the penalty spot but Aina ruined all that good work with a sloppy pass.
09:15pm
48 min: Forest 0 Fener 2
Forest fans ought to be livid but the fear is outweighing the anger so far. Cunha exploits a mistake by Kante as he strides down the inside-right but the centre-half’s shot is saved by Cetin. His save rebounds to Dominguez who snatches at his effort from 18 yards and hammers it wide.
09:10pm Video • Goals
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GOAL!
Forest 0 Fener 2 (Akturkoglu, pen) Knocks it crisply into the centre-right of the goal having sent Ortega the other way.
09:09pm
46 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Fenerbahce penalty! Williams slips and lets Oguz in round the back. He pulls the ball back to Akturkoglu who goes over Cunha’s outstretched leg. Soft but he invited him to fall over the hurdle.
09:08pm
Fenerbahce also use their bench
Semedo → Nene
09:07pm
City make four changes
Aina → Murillo
Sangaré → Yates
Hudson-Odoi → McAtee
Igor Jesus → Lucca.
08:55pm
Half-time verdict
Forest have been booed off at half-time and are fortunate to only be a goal behind.
This was unthinkable after last week’s convincing victory over Fenerbahce in Turkey, but they are making life very difficult for themselves. There have been so many mistakes, and from a position of comfort they are now in danger.
With the Premier League game at Brighton on Sunday, Vitor Pereira will be reluctant to introduce the heavy artillery from the bench but he may have no choice.
08:54pm
Half-time
Igor Jesus is sent out tow arm up early. A change is going to come. Forest have been as disjointed as they have habitually been this season when the manager has used his broader squad. It’s a Wrexham-away type performance and Fener should be 2-0 up and shodding the butterflies in the home team in hobnail boots. But profligacy in front of goal has kept the scoreline fairly comfortable for Forest. But let’s not forget this is also a much-changed Fenerbahce team.
08:51pm
45+3 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Williams’ cross from the right is blocked by Brown. Two more minutes to come. Forest either need to play to Lucca’s strengths or take him off. They’ve bought a centre-forward who needs crosses and have given him none.
08:49pm
45+1 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Fine save by Ortega low to his right to batter away Cherif’s deflected shot as Fener carve Forest apart with Kante’s chipped, long pass up the inside-right.
08:48pm
45 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Cunha shows his pace to outsprint the rapid Brown after the Brazilian centre-back had made a crucial interception to thwart Ismail’s pace.
08:46pm
44 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
The crowd is jittery and so are the Forest players.
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It is proving another poor night for Lorenzo Lucca, Forest’s January signing from Napoli.
Lucca has made a very unconvincing start since joining on loan, and is struggling again here. Chris Wood cannot return quickly enough for the home team.
08:44pm
42 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
First Anderson gives up the ball cheaply and Cherif ends up smashing a shot into the side-netting then it’s Hutchinson with a similarly terrible pass that allows Fener to storm back down the right, square it to Akturkoglu who somehow drags his shot wide from 12 yards. He had to score. Forest, prone to error, are riding their luck or rather Fenerbahce’s bad luck.
08:42pm
40 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Williams misjudges Lucca’s height with a cross from the right that the beanpole would have needed a stepladder to reach. Think they would be better off crossing from higher up the pitch rather than these deep positions. If they beat the full-back then hit a cross with pace that allowed Lucca to run on to it, he might be devastating. Instead they’re giving him shallow angles with bend not whip, asking him to do something from a standing start.
08:39pm
38 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
The game goes from end-to-end after Ortega stands tall to block Akturkoglu’s whippy, dipping cross to the near post then triggers a break down the left that ends with McAtee’s soft-header from the right of the penalty spot. He may have been offside.
08:37pm
36 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Anderson slices a shot wide from the D after Demir boots McAtee’s cross away.
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Fenerbahce go up the other end in a slick counter-attack and earn a corner when Brown’s cross from the left is turned behind.
08:35pm
35 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Murillo intercepts a pass looking for Nene to stop a Fener counter then promptly passes the ball straight into touch.
08:33pm
33 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Forest go short again, finding Anderson in the inside-left position but his shot is blocked by Muldur. With Murillo and Morato and their heft plus Lucca’s size and Hrubesch-like heading ability, why not just stick it in the box from the corner?
08:32pm
31 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
A short corner, messed up by Forest, elicits a groan from the crowd but Forest come back and earn another corner when Dominguez’s cushiond header looking for Lucca is put behind by Ismail Yuksek.
08:30pm
29 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Kante rolls back the years and lifts his leg so that his foot is above his shoulder to catch Dominguez on the knee as they fought for a bouncing ball. From the free-kick, Forest look for the back post but Demir gets there first to head it behind for a corner.
08:28pm
27 min: Forest 0 Fener 1
Anderson almost strikes straight back after storming down the inside-left towards the byline and fizzing an angled shot just past the right post.
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They always say 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline, but how about 3-0?
Forest are wobbling here at the City Ground and Fenerbahce capitalised on mistakes by Morato and Neco Williams to take the lead.
This is not the stress-free evening Vitor Pereira was seeking.
08:24pm Video • Goals
GOAL!
Forest 0 Fener 1 (Akturkoglu) Murillo caught miles upfield supporting Hutchinson as he belted down the left. When Geundouzi picked off his cross he set Nene off down the right, marauding into acres of space. It ends up two v two with Cunha and Morato scrambling back as Cherif makes 60 yards. When Morato decides to close him down he squares it to Akturkoglu and catches Cunha in no man’s land. Williams, sprinting back on a rescue mission, slips, Akturkoglu traps the pass and smacks a right-foot shot into the bottom left corner.
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08:23pm
21 min: Forest 0 Fener 0
Hutchinson skins Demir again but finds Guendouzi with his cross.
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
08:21pm
18 min Forest 0 Fener 0
One Fener fan pulls down his shirt to show he is wearing a Derby shirt underneath and kisses the badge. Ramming it down their throats, literally. Play is stopped for treatment to Nene who has a sore hip and requires the miracle spray.
08:19pm
16 min Forest 0 Fener 0
Hutchinson hares down the left and again fires over an inviting cross and again catches his forwards on their heels. Fenerbahce break and earn a corner that comes to naught.
08:17pm
13 min Forest 0 Fener 0
Anderson fires a cross across goal after some dainty footwork but without finding a team-mate even lurking never mind ready to pounce. And then Lucca finds some space at the back post when McAtee curls in an inswinging cross from the right, falling heavily on his left shoulder after tamely heading it on target but with no venom.
08:14pm
11 min Forest 0 Fener 0
McAtee is given the ball in the inside-right channel by Lucca who held up a pass well, back to goal. McAtee shuffles forward then tries to lace a pass outside Muldur for Lucca to run on to and get a shot away but Lucca doesn’t read that plan and McAtee throws up his arms in frustration.
08:11pm
9 min Forest 0 Fener 0
Hutchinson goes bombing down the left, strides past Demir and whips over a cross that whizzes past Guendouzi but Lucca, at the back post, couldn’t get there either.
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Stewards contain the flares thrown from the Fener end – Gareth Copley/Getty Images
08:09pm
7 min Forest 0 Fener 0
Safety first from Nene under pressure from Anderson and he chips the ball back to the keeper from halfway. When Cetin pumps a pass upfield Yates tussles with Oguz for possession, falls and dislocates the little finger on his right hand. The physio yanks it back into place and tapes it to his ring finger.
08:06pm
5 min Forest 0 Fener 0
Scrappy so far. Couple of promising runs by Williams but no precision in the passing as yet.
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Flares on the pitch already here at the City Ground. Two have been hurled from the away end.
Play has stopped and it’s all a bit silly.
Fenerbahce captain Ismail Yuksek has just been over to the away end.
It appears he was pleading with the supporters not to throw any more flares on to the pitch.
08:05pm
3 min Forest 0 Fener 0
Ismail, the captain, goes over to ask the Fener fans to stop chucking flares and he picks one up and takes it off the field. With smoke covering the end behind Ortega, stewards extinguish more flares and the game resumes.
08:03pm
1 min Forest 0 Fener 0
Forest kick off and work the ball back to Ortega. They are playing four at the back with Williams at right-back and Murillo at left-back. The game is suspended when a Fenerbahce fan lobs one of many flares from their end on to the pitch.
07:58pm
The teams walk on to the field
Into the Nottingham rain. Thousands of empty seats… but not in the away end.
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Fener fans came armed with macs in club colours – Gareth Copley/Getty Images
07:55pm
Leave it all on the (training) field
Feels like I’ve written this a few times already this season, but this is a big night for James McAtee.
Signed from Manchester City for £25m in the summer, McAtee has endured a slow start to life at Forest.
His best performance was actually in the Europa League, producing an impressive display in the 4-0 win over Ferencvaros last month.
It’s understood that McAtee has been outstanding in training, but has struggled to transfer that into matches. Let’s see how he gets on tonight.
07:51pm
Vitor Pereira speaks to TNT Sports
The game starts at 0-0 and we must face this game with the mentality to score a goal and play our game with ambition, with organisation and enjoying the game, showing the qualities we have individually.
[On the changes] They should be ready to help the team at this moment. It’s important that today is the opportunity to show [they have] the quality and mentality.
If I had more training, this is not possible but the games are like training to show they can play with quality and the mentality.
07:27pm
Looking forward
This is Forest’s first experience of Europe since 1996 and the ambition of owner Evangelos Marinakis is to win the trophy.
Real Betis or FC Midtjylland await Forest – or indeed Fenerbahce – in the round of 16 over two legs next month. If Forest do go through tonight, the first leg will be at the City Ground on March 12.
The draw will be at midday on Friday, when Aston Villa will return to the competition as a seeded team.
07:25pm
The language of priorities…
This should be a stroll for Forest tonight against a Fenerbahce team afflicted by injuries and suspensions.
Forest secured a comfortable 3-0 win in Istanbul last week and Vitor Pereira has made six changes to Sunday’s starting XI against Liverpool.
The visit to Brighton in the Premier League this weekend is clearly on Pereira’s mind, in what already feels like a pivotal afternoon.
Pereira will not be wanting any stress this evening – but the season so far from Forest has been anything but straightforward…
07:08pm
And now for those of you watching in black and white
Nottm Forest Ortega; Jair Cunha, Murillo, Morato, Hutchinson, Dominguez, Yates, Anderson, Williams; McAtee’ Lucca.
Substitutes Gunn, Willows, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Igor Jesus, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Aina, Abbott.
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Fenerbahce Tarik Cetin; Muldur, Guendouzi, Demir, Brown; Aydin, Yuksek, Kante; Dorgeles, Cherif, Akturkoglu.
Substitutes Biterge, Ceylan, Asensio, Mercan, Nelson Semedo, Ekici, Uregen.
Referee Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
06:58pm
Fenerbahce also make six changes
Out go Ederson, Semedo, Skriniar, Oosterwolder, Talisca and Marco Asensio for Tarik Cetin, Archie Brown, Yigit Efe Demir, Ismael Yuksuk, Dorgeles Nene and Oguz Aydin.
You can sense their mood by the naming of only seven subs.
06:52pm
Forest team news
Vitor Pereira makes six changes, bringing in Morato, Yates, Jair Cunha, McAtee, Lucca and Domínguez for Aina, Milenkovic, Sangaré, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi and Igor Jesus.
05:45pm
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05:19pm
Preview: Minds on Brighton?
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the Europa League play-off round tie second leg between Nottingham Forest and Fenerbahce which begins with the home side in rude health, 3-0 up after last week’s match at Sukru Saracoglu. Doing enough to ensure they go through tonight – and comebacks from 3-0 or even 4-0 down are not impossible as Barcelona will tell you from 2017 when they went berserk against PSG and again from 2019 when Liverpool gave them a taste of their own medicine – will give them a last 16 tie against either Real Betis or Midtjylland, both of whom they played in the group stage.
Vitor Pereira, Forest’s newest manager in a season when ‘new’ is undivorceable from the job title, did a fine job against one of his former clubs last week, sending out his strongest available XI and emerging with a dominant victory over a team of considerable talent from Ederson in goal to Milan Skriniar, Fred, N’Golo Kanté, Marco Asensio and Talisca in front of him. But their unlucky defeat by Liverpool on Sunday which has left them stuck in 17th with only a two-point lead over West Ham ought to persuade him to use some of the expensive fringe players Edu and Evangelos Marinakis have purchased for his predecessors even if they are yet to show the kind of form in their rare run outs that persuaded Forest to part with £200m in the summer. Sunday’s trip to Brighton must be weighing on his mind and shape his team sheet.
Fenerbahce, on merely their second manager of the season, are second in the Superlig, two points behind Galatasaray and are unbeaten in the league all season. The head coach, Domenico Tedesco, has overseen their entire Europa League campaign after Jose Mourinho was sacked following their defeat by Feyenoord in a Champions League play-off. Their away record in the competition has not been up to snuff, a 4-0 win over Brann their only victory on the road so far which suggests that a Sergi Roberto or Divock Origi-style miracle is, despite their quality, miles beyond them.
