Nottingham Forest are through to the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 — but you wouldn’t have known it from the fury on the touchline.

Despite grinding out qualification against Fenerbahçe, Forest’s celebrations were overshadowed by a stunning post-match outburst aimed squarely at on-loan striker Lorenzo Lucca.

The towering forward, borrowed from Napoli, delivered what many fans branded a “disaster-class” — a performance riddled with heavy touches, squandered chances, and a glaring first-half miss that nearly shifted momentum in Fenerbahçe’s favour.

And his manager did not hold back.

“He has to look at himself,” the Forest boss snapped in his post-match press conference. “This is the Europa League. This isn’t a playground. We qualified in spite of him tonight, not because of him.”

• The words were as cold as the Istanbul night air.

Forest had done the hard work over two legs, showing grit and defensive steel to secure passage into the knockout rounds. But up front, Lucca looked isolated and ineffective. He failed to register a single shot on target, lost key duels, and appeared disconnected from Forest’s attacking rhythm.

Supporters inside the stadium were visibly frustrated. Groans echoed when another promising move broke down at Lucca’s feet. Social media was even harsher — some calling it his worst performance since arriving in England.

Yet what stunned observers most was the manager’s public criticism.

“When you wear this badge, you fight for every ball,” he continued. “Effort is non-negotiable. If you can’t give that, you don’t play.”

It was a thinly veiled warning.

Lucca’s loan spell from Napoli had promised physical presence and a clinical edge in Europe. Instead, Thursday night exposed alarming fragility in his confidence. The striker cut a dejected figure at full time, applauding fans briefly before disappearing down the tunnel.

Forest march into the Round of 16 with belief — but also with questions.

Will Lucca start the next European fixture? Has the manager drawn a line in the sand? And most importantly, can the Italian forward recover from a night that may define his loan spell?

Qualification should have been the headline.

Instead, Nottingham Forest’s Europa League triumph has sparked a dressing room storm — and all eyes are now on Lorenzo Lucca.