Igor Jesus Scores a Brace as Nottingham Forest Round Off Europa League Campaign with Victory over Hungarian Opponents
At a Glance
- The home side were previously qualified to the knockout round.
- A Ferencvaros defender own goal gives hosts a first-half lead.
- The striker's European strike puts the team in command.
- Striker adds a third with a sharp finish in the latter period.
- The midfielder caps a great performance with a spot-kick.
The Brazilian attacker found the net on two occasions as Nottingham Forest rounded off the league phase of the European competition with a comfortable win against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
The hosts had already secured a berth in the knockout round play-offs and entered this game with a small chance of making the league's elite, even though they needed other matches to fall in their favor.
That did not happen but this assured performance will give Forest fans belief that their side can come through the two-legged play-off to advance to the round of sixteen.
A Ferencvaros midfielder struck the upright with a headed effort inside the first 10 minutes for the away team – who are managed by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from that point forward.
Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when Ryan Yates' cross was deflected in by Bence Otvos and doubled the lead four minutes later – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the back post for his 10th goal of the season.
The forward's eleventh goal arrived soon after the restart when he timed a run perfectly to break clear of the defence and then drive an effort past the shot-stopper.
That goal killed off the visitors' aspirations of mounting a recovery and instead the hosts added a fourth when the excellent James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a foul by the unfortunate Otvos inside the box on Dan Ndoye.
Europe's secondary club competition knockout phase play-off draw takes place on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Nottingham Forest might face either the Turkish side or Panathinaikos.
"It's more than the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the whole squad," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"That was another step, but it is a good step."
Team Breakdown: Striker Shines as Recent Arrival Watches On
Jesus has been a revelation for Nottingham Forest in European competition this season with half of his eleven strikes scored in the tournament.
This double also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the threat of competition for his place in attack could be spurring him on.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was observing this game from the directors' box.
This development may well have been on Jesus' mind as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, delivering two excellent goals and generally being a menace to the visitors' defence with his speed and runs.
Jesus was not the only one in impressing, with McAtee producing his best performance in a Nottingham Forest shirt since signing from the champions last summer, while Dan Ndoye also impressed.
These encouraging performances will give Forest some fresh hope as they switch focus to pulling further away from the bottom three when they welcome their London rivals on the weekend.
"All you can ask for is a response," continued Dyche.
"I have always trusted their commitment or their loyalty or honesty. It is just about displaying your quality.
"James was very good and Dan Ndoye was super sharp. Igor got another two and these are good signs."
Star Performer
Number: 19 The Striker
Average rating: 9.10
Forest Top Players
- #19: Rating 9.10
- J. McAtee: Average Rating 8.8
- R. Yates: Average Rating 8.63
- I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.0
- N. Milenković: Rating 7.9
The Visitors Notable Players
- #11: Average Rating 4.14
- #66: Average Rating 4.1
- #16: Rating 4.1
Once the chance to rate players has closed, the rating shown is the mean from all the votes.
