Forest travelled to the Estadio do Dragao hoping for an edge, but had to settle for a share of the spoils after a dramatic opening spell. William Gomes gave Porto the lead, finishing from close range after early pressure, before a bizarre own goal from Martim Fernandes levelled the match just minutes later.

Pereira, returning to face his former club, made bold selection calls. Key defenders Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic were limited to one half each, while Morgan Gibbs-White was withdrawn early in the second half.

After the match, Pereira made his thinking clear.

"A good result in my opinion," he said. "To compete in two competitions we need to use everyone. We changed many players, but they did good work. Now it's open for the second leg at home."

He added: "Porto at home are strong with their supporters. But we tried to balance both competitions. We made decisions thinking about the next match."

That next match - against Aston Villa - is where Pereira's priorities lie. With Forest just three points above the relegation zone, the manager did not hide his focus.

"The first substitutions were already thinking about Villa," he explained. "It's very important for us to take points in the league. That is the only way."

On the pitch, Forest had to withstand heavy early pressure. Terem Moffi missed two big chances before Porto's opener, while goalkeeper Stefan Ortega made key saves to keep the visitors in the tie.

Forest thought they had won it late on when Igor Jesus found the net, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review for a foul on Diogo Costa.

Despite late pressure from Porto, including a missed chance from Victor Froholdt, Forest held firm.

The result leaves the tie finely balanced heading into the second leg at the City Ground - a scenario that suits Pereira, even if his priorities remain firmly rooted in securing top-flight survival.

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