Igor Jesus Fires Twice as The Reds Round Off European Campaign with Victory over Ferencvaros
At a Glance
- Forest were previously qualified to the knockout round.
- Bence Otvos own goal gives Nottingham Forest a first-half lead.
- The striker's fifth goal in Europe puts Forest in command.
- Striker adds a third with a clinical effort in the second half.
- James McAtee rounds off a excellent performance with a spot-kick.
Igor Jesus found the net on two occasions as Nottingham Forest concluded the league phase of the Europa League with a convincing win against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
The hosts had previously guaranteed a berth in the next qualifying round and went into this game with a slim possibility of reaching the top eight, even though they needed other matches to go their way.
That did not happen but this confident performance will give Forest fans confidence that their side can navigate the home-and-away tie to reach the round of sixteen.
A Ferencvaros midfielder struck the post with a header inside the first 10 minutes for the visitors – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from that point forward.
Forest opened the scoring in the 17th minute when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by the defender and doubled the lead four minutes later – the striker firing an effort in at the back post for his 10th goal of the campaign.
The forward's eleventh goal came soon after the restart when he timed a run perfectly to escape the defence and then drive an effort beyond the shot-stopper.
The third strike killed off the visitors' hopes of mounting a recovery and instead the hosts scored again when the excellent James McAtee converted a spot-kick after a infringement by the hapless Bence Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.
Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round draw is scheduled on Friday, 30 January (midday UK time), where Forest could be drawn against either Fenerbahce or the Greek club.
"It is not just the scoreline, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these guys to do collectively well, the entire team," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"This is another step, but it is a good one."
Forest Analysis: Jesus Catches Eye as New Signing Watches On
Igor Jesus has been a revelation for Forest in European competition this season with half of his eleven strikes scored in the tournament.
His brace also means he has got a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the threat of competition for his place in attack could be providing motivation.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week brought in temporarily and he was watching this game from the stands.
That may well have been on the striker's mind as he was impressive against the opposition, producing two excellent goals and overall being a menace to the visitors' defence with his pace and runs.
Jesus was not alone in impressing, with James McAtee producing his finest display in a Nottingham Forest shirt since signing from the champions last summer, while the Swiss international also performed well.
Such positive showings will give the club some fresh hope as they switch focus to pulling further away from the bottom three when they welcome Crystal Palace on the weekend.
"All you can ask for is a response," added the manager.
"I've never questioned their commitment or their loyalty or integrity. It is just go and show your ability.
"James was excellent and Dan was super sharp. Igor got another two and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
Number: 19 The Striker
Average rating: 9.1
Nottingham Forest Top Players
- Igor Jesus: Rating 9.1
- #24: Rating 8.8
- #22: Average Rating 8.6
- I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.01
- N. Milenković: Average Rating 7.94
Ferencváros Notable Players
- B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.1
- #66: Average Rating 4.1
- K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.09
Once the chance to rate players has closed, the score shown is the mean from all the submissions.