Forest had its chances, but could not convert them despite its home advantage, giving it a deficit to overturn in next week's second leg.

Midtjylland started brightly, and Matz Sels was left helpless against Junior Brumado's header, but Murillo was well-placed on the line to clear it away.

Forest turned up the pressure after that, with Omari Hutchinson forcing Elias Olafsson into a smart stop shortly after, while Igor Jesus prodded wide on the stretch.

Elliot Anderson also drew a good save out of Olaffson from distance, with Jesus seeing a header cleared off the line in the next phase after Midtjylland failed to clear their lines.

Forest was quick out of the blocks in the second half, with Nicolas Dominguez and Callum Hudson-Odoi both firing off target amid torrential rain at the City Ground.

Valdemar Byskov then crashed a shot off the bar from range out of nowhere, but after Forest wasted more opportunities, Midtjylland made them pay in the 80th minute.

Cho Gue-Sung drifted away from his marker in the box and cushioned Ousmane Diao's right-sided cross past Sels and into the bottom-right corner to secure the victory.