Nottingham Forest’s hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League were dealt a blow after they slipped to a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford, who boosted their hopes of finishing in a European spot.

The Bees scored once in each half at the City Ground to keep their hopes of qualifying for Europe alive.

Kevin Schade broke the deadlock just before half-time, poking the opener past Matz Sels, who had come off his line.

Yoane Wissa doubled Brentford’s advantage in the 70th minute, catching the Forest goalkeeper out with a lovely dink after the hosts failed to deal with Mark Flekken’s long ball.

Forest missed the chance to move third in the Premier League, remaining sixth, behind Chelsea on goal difference, while Brentford stay 11th, but they are just two points off eighth-placed Fulham.

How the match unfolded

Christian Norgaard’s far-post header from a corner was turned away in front of the goalline by Nikola Milenkovic as Brentford started well, and Sepp van den Berg saw a close-range flick pushed away by Sels. 

Schade eventually found the breakthrough Brentford’s performance warranted in the 44th minute. Ola Aina slipped in the box as he misjudged the bounce of Nathan Collins’ pass, and the German coolly slotted it past Sels.

Forest responded brightly after the break. After Sels kept out Bryan Mbeumo’s bouncing strike, Anthony Elanga broke quickly down the left before weaving inside, only for his low curler to be tipped wide by Flekken.

Yet the hosts were 2-0 down when another long ball over the top released Wissa, who peeled off Milenkovic and lifted a delicate finish over Sels.

Elanga’s left-sided free-kick caused chaos in the Brentford box late on as Collins made a vital block, while the defender also did enough to put off Ramon Sosa, who blazed over as Forest slipped to a second straight home defeat.

Forest's defence suffers uncharacteristic wobble

After a disappointing trip to Wembley Stadium for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final, which Forest lost 2-0 to Manchester City despite hitting the woodwork three times, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team turned their attention back to their bid for a top-five finish.

Forest’s loss to Everton in their last home match ended a run of nine without defeat on home soil, but a sluggish start gave Brentford plenty of confidence, and Nuno’s men were made to pay when they switched off at the back.

There were half-chances for Chris Wood, who saw a header deflect wide, and Elliot Anderson, who curled a tame effort straight at Flekken, but Forest were disappointing up top.

Nuno’s half-time team talk seemed to have worked, injecting much-needed urgency into Forest as they pressed higher and used their counter-attacking proficiency more wisely, with Elanga denied a fine solo goal by Flekken’s quick reflexes.

It was another uncharacteristic defensive lapse that cost them, though. Flekken took a route one approach, and Milenkovic spotted Wissa too late.

This was Forest’s game in hand, and they would have moved back up to third if they had earned three points, putting their fate into their own hands, but instead, they have work to do with only four games remaining. A trip to FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace is up next on Monday.

There’s a buzz about the Bees

While Brentford sit just inside the bottom half of the table, their hopes of securing European qualification for the first time are alive, albeit they would likely need a perfect finish to the season and other results to go their way.

Having not played in nearly two weeks, since a 4-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, they came into this game fresh and caused Forest a few scares early on, with Schade heading across the face of goal before Norgaard’s chance.

Thomas Frank may feel they got slightly lucky after Keane Lewis-Potter, already on a booking, caught Aina with a late challenge, with only a Forest free-kick awarded, much to the home fans’ frustration.

Their first-half pressure paid off just before the break, with Collins allowed too much time to lift it over the top, though Schade was fortunate to profit from the returning Aina’s untimely slip.

Brentford remained patient in the second half, waiting for their chances, with Mbeumo seeing a hat-trick of presentable opportunities pass him by.

While Mbeumo did not hit the net, his strike partner did. Wissa timed his run perfectly to ghost in behind Forest’s backline and ensure Brentford clinched a first away win since mid-March.

Having also drawn with Chelsea and Arsenal in recent weeks, it is another huge result for the Bees, who are at home against Manchester United on Sunday.

Club reports

Forest report | Brentford report

Match officials

Referee: Darren England. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Akil Howson. Fourth official: Leigh Doughty. VAR: Craig Pawson. Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.