Nottingham Forest progressed to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup with a penalty-shootout victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the City Ground.

Nothing could split the two Premier League clubs in normal time, with Willy Boly's first-half goal being cancelled out by a Raul Jimenez effort just after the hour mark, but Dean Henderson saved the crucial penalty in the shootout to send his side into the last four.

Morgan Gibbs-White looked lively from the get-go and created the first real chance of the game when he flashed the ball across the face of the area towards Gustavo Scarpa, but the Brazilian miscued his shot, before Forest failed to threaten from the resulting corner.

Spurred on by a fantastic atmosphere under the lights at the City Ground, Steve Cooper's side continued to put Wolves on the back foot in the early stages, and they got their reward when a corner fell kindly to Boly, who could not miss from close range, stabbing home against his former club.

After a slow start, Julen Lopetegui's side started to grow into the first half as it wore on, with Goncalo Guedes firing their first shot on target with a speculative shot from the edge of the box, but it was well saved by Henderson, who was at his usual best.

The Forest number one was again called into action when Jimenez played a nice one-two with Hwang Hee-chan, before unleashing a shot from close range, only to be denied by a stunning save.

Continuing to display impressive movement on and off the ball, Hwang found himself in a promising position minutes later, firing a first-time effort towards the top of the net, but Henderson stood strong once more, producing a brilliant diving save.

Wolves dominated the remainder of the opening 45, having just under 70% possession and three more shots on target than their opponents, but they could not make their superiority pay, and went in a goal down at the break.

Under the pouring rain on a cold Nottinghamshire night, the visitors picked up from where they left off in the second half, controlling the majority of the play, but it was Forest who went closest to scoring in the opening stages.

Latching onto a loose ball, Gibbs-White picked the ball up just inside the penalty area and let fly with a measured shot towards the bottom left corner, but Jose Sa was equal to it, producing a good save to prevent the Reds from doubling their lead.

With his side not looking as threatening as they did in the first half, Lopetegui looked to his bench for some inspiration on the hour mark, and Matheus Cunha made an instant impact, playing a deftly weighted through ball into the path of Jimenez.

The Mexican could not miss from six yards out, scoring for the second EFL Cup match in a row to bring the scores level, and the Old Gold showed no signs of stopping there, continuing to commit men forward in search of a second goal.

Tensions boiled over with just minutes to spare when Matheus Nunes appeared to be brought down in the area by Emmanuel Dennis, with Ruben Neves leading the protests, but the referee was unwavering in his decision not to point to the spot, meaning penalties were required to separate the teams.

Wolves got off to the best possible start in the shoot-out, with Jose Sa saving well to stop a powerful Sam Surridge strike, however Henderson responded with a save of his own before stopping the fifth penalty from Joseph Hodge, sending his side into the last four of the EFL Cup for the first time since 1990.