The hero of the first leg, Cho Gyu-seong, stood at the center of the most brutal moment. One miss in the penalty shootout changed the entire momentum.
Midtjylland lost to Nottingham Forest in a penalty shootout after an extra-time battle in the second leg of the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League round of 16 at Denmark's MCH Arena at 2:45 a.m. on the 20th (Korean time).
The start was not bad. In the first leg Midtjylland took a favorable position with a 1-0 victory thanks to Cho Gyu-seong's header in the 35th minute of the second half. Cho calmly finished in the box to give his team an important lead.
But the flow of the second leg was completely different. The balance was broken by Nikola Milenković's header in the 40th minute of the first half, and Midtjylland was driven to the brink when Ryan Yates's long-range shot came in the 7th minute of the second half.
They did not collapse easily. Martin Erlić scored in the 24th minute of the second half to make the aggregate score 2-2. The match continued into extra time, but no more goals came.
In the end, the outcome went to a penalty shootout. And at that moment, the momentum shifted dramatically.
Cho Gyu-seong, who stepped up as Midtjylland's first kicker, struck the post. It was an uneasy start. The second and third kickers then missed consecutively and the momentum completely collapsed. Nottingham, meanwhile, calmly continued to convert, and the match ultimately ended that way.
Criticism was harsh after the match. The Sun pointed out, "Contrary to the intensity over 210 minutes, the penalty shootout was not like that at all. Midtjylland's penalties did not head toward the goal. Cho Gyu-seong's and Aral Şimşir's shots both hit the left post. Edward Chilufya's shot sliced through air."
Fans' reactions were even sharper. The Sun reported, "Midtjylland was mocked on social media," and said harsh comments followed, including "Midtjylland's worst penalty shootout ever," "a complete disaster," "how could they mess up every kick?", and "the three worst penalty kicks I've seen."
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