Nottingham Forest were denied a triumphant return to European action when Antony scored an 85th-minute equaliser for Real Betis in the Europa League.
Nottingham’s first match in European competition for 29 years got off to a bad start when DR Congo forward Cedric Bakambu fired the hosts into a 15th-minute lead.
In a highly-entertaining game, Brazil forward Igor Jesus equalised inside four minutes from close range after a clever pass by captain Morgan Gibbs-White.
And Jesus, a £10m signing from Botafogo in July, was celebrating again in the 23rd minute after heading his side into the lead from Douglas Luiz’s corner.
Postecoglou raised eyebrows before kick-off by dropping Chris Wood – whose goals last season helped propel Forest into Europe – to the bench and promoting Jesus to the starting line-up.
And Jesus was denied a hat-trick when his 32nd-minute attempt was blocked after Elliot Anderson’s jinking run past a couple of Betis players.
Anderson was outstanding in midfielder, while Jesus was a constant threat up front but Nottingham, who hit the post through Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 33rd minute, were denied victory when former Manchester United player Antony scored late on.
Nottingham finished seventh under Nuno Espirito Santo last season to qualify for the Conference League but were later promoted to the Europa League, while Crystal Palace were relegated to the Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
