Igor Jesus Scores a Brace as The Reds Round Off European Campaign with Victory over Ferencvaros
At a Glance
- Forest were already through to the knockout round.
- Bence Otvos own goal gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead.
- The striker's fifth goal in Europe puts the team in control.
- Striker adds a third with a sharp finish in the latter period.
- The midfielder caps a excellent performance with a penalty.
The Brazilian attacker found the net on two occasions as Nottingham Forest rounded off the group stage of the Europa League with a comfortable triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
Forest had previously guaranteed a place in the next qualifying round and went into this fixture with a small chance of reaching the top eight, even though they needed other matches to fall in their favor.
That did not happen but this confident performance will give Forest fans confidence that their team can navigate the two-legged play-off to advance to the round of sixteen.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the upright with a header inside the first 10 minutes for the away team – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from that point forward.
Forest broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by Bence Otvos and doubled the lead four minutes later – the striker squeezing a shot in at the far post for his tenth strike of the campaign.
Jesus' 11th arrived early in the second half when he timed a run perfectly to break clear of the defence and then drive an effort past the goalkeeper.
The third strike ended the visitors' aspirations of mounting a recovery and instead Forest scored again when the impressive McAtee scored from a penalty after a foul by the unfortunate Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.
The Europa League qualifying round lottery is scheduled on the final Friday of January (midday UK time), where Forest might face either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos.
"It is not just the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the entire team," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"This is another step, but it is a good step."
Team Breakdown: Jesus Catches Eye as Recent Arrival Observes from Stands
Igor Jesus has been a standout performer for Nottingham Forest in European competition this season with six of his eleven strikes scored in the Europa League.
This double also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his last two games and the prospect of a challenge for his position in attack could be spurring him on.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was observing this game from the stands.
This development may well have been on the striker's thoughts as he was impressive against Ferencvaros, producing two excellent finishes and generally being a constant threat to the visitors' defence with his speed and runs.
The forward was not the only one in impressing, with James McAtee turning in his best performance in a Forest jersey since joining from Manchester City in the previous transfer window, while the Swiss international also performed well.
These encouraging performances will give the club some renewed optimism as they switch focus to increasing the gap from the bottom three when they welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"All you can ask for is a response," added Dyche.
"I have always trusted their work ethic or their dedication or integrity. It is just about displaying your quality.
"James was excellent and Dan was incredibly lively. Jesus got another two and these are good signs."
Player of the Match
#19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.10
Forest Top Players
- #19: Rating 9.1
- J. McAtee: Rating 8.75
- R. Yates: Rating 8.6
- I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.0
- N. Milenković: Rating 7.94
The Visitors Notable Players
- B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.1
- Júlio Romão: Average Rating 4.1
- K. Zachariassen: Rating 4.1
Once the chance to submit ratings has closed, the rating shown is the mean from all the votes.
