Pereira leads Nottingham Forest to a 3-0 win at Fenerbahçe in Europa League playoff, Celtic beaten

Vítor Pereira made an impact in his first game in charge, leading Nottingham Forest to a 3-0 victory at Fenerbahçe in the first leg of their Europa League playoff on Thursday.

Defender Murillo, forward Igor Jesus and captain Morgan Gibbs-White scored a goal apiece to put Forest in command ahead of the second leg at the City Ground.

Martin O’Neill didn't have much to celebrate in his 1,000th career game as manager as his Celtic lost 4-1 at home to Stuttgart.

Viktoria Plzeň, the only unbeaten team in the league phase, remained without a defeat after a late equalizer earned a 2-2 draw against Panathinaikos in Athens.

In Thessaloniki, PAOK was beaten 2-1 by Celta Vigo on goals from Iago Aspas and Williot Swedberg in a rematch of the Greek side’s 3-1 loss to the Spanish team in the league phase.

Zakaria El Ouahdi scored twice and Bryan Heynen added one for visiting Genk in a 3-1 victory against Dinamo in Zagreb.

Lille was stunned 1-0 at home by Red Star Belgrade and Ludogorets beat Ferencváros 2-1.

In Norway, Argentine forward Santiago Castro scored the winner for Bologna from a tight angle to secure a 1-0 victory over Brann.

Like in the Champions League, the top eight finishers in the league phase advanced automatically to the last 16. The teams placed from nine to 24 entered a two-leg playoff.

The second leg is scheduled for next Thursday.

Pereira became struggling Nottingham Forest’s fourth coach of a turbulent season only on Sunday, replacing Sean Dyche, who was fired after being in charge for just 114 days.

This was his first game in charge ahead of hosting defending champion Liverpool on Sunday as Forest is 17th in the Premier League and one place above the relegation zone.

Murillo received a pass from Elliot Anderson and unleashed a fierce shot from outside the area which slightly deflected off defender Milan Škriniar before finding the bottom right corner of the net in the 21st.

Jesus doubled the lead with a header shortly before halftime off a corner kick with his seventh goal of the campaign.

The Brazil forward then set up the third in the second half for Gibbs-White.

Pereira is in his second coaching job of the season. In November, he was fired by Wolverhampton Wanderers after a winless start to the Premier League season.

In front of packed Celtic Park, caretaker boss O’Neill had an evening to forget.

Bilal El Khannouss gave the visitors an early lead, which was canceled out by Benjamin Nygren who rounded goalkeeper Alexander Nübel to equalize.

El Khannouss restored a one-goal advantage for the Bundesliga team with a header, his fifth goal in the European second-tier competition.

Celtic looked more dangerous up front in the second half but Stuttgart increased the lead though a shot by Jamie Leweling from outside the area and another by substitute Tiago Tomás in added time.

The 73-year-old O'Neill has managed Celtic in 301 of his 1,000 games as a professional manager, having won three league titles during his first stint in charge between 2000-05. He is in his second spell as interim manager this season, and had lost only once in his previous 18 games across all competitions.

He has also managed Norwich, Leicester, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Ireland.

Crystal Palace had to settle for a 1-1 draw away at Zrinjski Mostar in Bosnia in the third-tier Conference League. Ismaïla Sarr gave the Premier League side a 1-0 lead but Karlo Abramović salvaged a draw for the Bosnian champion.

Another favorite, Fiorentina — a two-time finalist — took home a 3-0 victory from Poland against Jagiellonia Bialystok.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Crystal Palace's goalkeeper Dean Henderson saves in front of Zrinjski's Kerim Memija during Europa Conference League play-off soccer match between Zrinjski and Crystal Palace in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

PAOK's Dimitrios Chatsidis controls the ball during a Europa League playoff soccer match between PAOK and Celta de Vigo in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Bologna's Santiago Castro and Brann's Fredrik Pallesen Knudsen, right, in action during the Europa League soccer match between SK Brann and Bologna, in Bergen, Norway, Thursday Feb. 19, 2026. (Paul S. Amundsen/NTB via AP)

Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White, celebrates scoring his side's third goal during a Europa league play-off first leg soccer match between Fenerbahce and Nottingham Forest in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Nottingham Forest's Murillo, center, defends a high ball during a Europa league play-off first leg soccer match between Fenerbahce and Nottingham Forest in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 20, 2026--

Axelspace Corporation (“Axelspace”), a leading developer and operator of microsatellites dedicated to realizing its vision of “Space within Your Reach,” announced that, for the purpose of carrying out the Ministry of Defense’s satellite constellation project, it has entered into a contract with Tri-Sat Constellation Co., Ltd. and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace Co., Ltd. for acquisition of optical imagery data. Tri-Sat Constellation Co., Ltd. is a special purpose company (SPC) established by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, and Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260220758297/en/

The Ministry of Defense’s satellite constellation project was awarded to a consortium comprising Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Synspective Inc., Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc., Mitsui Bussan Aerospace Co., Ltd., and Axelspace. Tri-Sat Constellation Co., Ltd. signed the project with the Ministry of Defense for the project on February 19. Axelspace, as the sole provider of optical imagery among the partner companies, will contribute by satellite imagery acquisition to the project.

This project is a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project aimed at building a satellite constellation operated by private-sector companies to ensure stable acquisition of imagery intelligence necessary for ensuring the effectiveness of stand-off defense capabilities*.

* Stand-off defense capabilities are the ability to effectively counter external attacks from a distant position outside the threat range.

“Under the recently concluded contract, Axelspace will participate as the sole optical imagery provider,” said Yuya Nakamura, President and CEO of Axelspace Corporation. “Based on the satellite development and operation technologies we have built to date, as well as our track record of stable image data provision, we aim to accurately address the needs of the national security field. At the same time, we will continue to actively expand the utilization of satellite data in the private sector and emerging markets, which are expected to see significant growth in the future.”

For the full press release, please visit: https://www.axelspace.com/news/satellite_constellation_project/

An imagery of satellite constellation © the Ministry of Defense