Pereira explains why he took Wood, Gibbs-White and Murillo off and praises players after Porto draw
Pereira explains why he took Wood, Gibbs-White and Murillo off and praises players after Porto draw Vitor Pereira says he decided to bring off Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White and Murillo against Porto with their Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday in mind. Wood returned to the starting line-up on his comeback from a knee injury which has kept him out since October as Forest drew 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final first leg. Pereira’s side trailed early on but had a bizarre own goal from Martim Fernandes to thank for the draw.
Explaining why he brought the key trio off with the game level, the Forest boss said: “The subs we did I was thinking about the next game against Villa. It’s very important for us to get points in the league and this is the only way. ” Pereira was also full of praise for his players: “A good result in my opinion.
To face two competitions we need to play with everyone. The players that started today did good work. In the end, 1-1, the game is open to play at home and decide qualification.
“Porto playing at home are a strong team. They have momentum with supporters. Forest I try to balance the two competitions, it was very clear we played with nine different players to the last game.
I think we did well. The players tried everything. 1-1 is a good result and playing at home we will see what we can do.