Igor Jesus Fires a Brace as Nottingham Forest Round Off Europa League Group Stage with Win over Ferencvaros
At a Glance
- Forest were previously qualified to the play-offs.
- A Ferencvaros defender own goal gives hosts a first-half lead.
- Igor Jesus' European strike puts the team in command.
- Forward nets again with a sharp finish in the latter period.
- The midfielder caps a great performance with a penalty.
Igor Jesus scored twice as Nottingham Forest rounded off the league phase of the European competition with a convincing triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the home stadium.
Forest had already secured a berth in the knockout round play-offs and entered this fixture with a slim possibility of making the league's elite, even though they required other matches to fall in their favor.
Those results failed to materialize but this confident performance will give Forest fans belief that their team can navigate the home-and-away tie to advance to the round of sixteen.
A Ferencvaros midfielder struck the post with a header inside the opening stages for the visitors – who are managed by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was all Forest from that point forward.
Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by the defender and added a second four minutes later – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the far post for his 10th goal of the campaign.
The forward's eleventh goal arrived soon after the restart when he timed a run perfectly to break clear of the backline and then drive an effort past the goalkeeper.
That goal ended Ferencvaros' aspirations of mounting a recovery and instead Forest scored again when the excellent James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a foul by the hapless Otvos inside the box on Dan Ndoye.
The Europa League knockout phase play-off lottery is scheduled on Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Forest could be drawn against either the Turkish side or the Greek club.
"It is not just the scoreline, there was that feel about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the entire team," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"That was another stride forward, but it is a good one."
Team Breakdown: Jesus Catches Eye as New Signing Observes from Stands
Jesus has been a standout performer for Forest in European competition this season with six of his 11 goals coming in the tournament.
His brace also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his last two games and the threat of a challenge for his position in attack could be providing motivation.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently brought in temporarily and he was observing this match from the directors' box.
This development may well have been on Jesus' mind as he was impressive against Ferencvaros, producing two superb finishes and overall being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his speed and movement.
The forward was not the only one in catching the eye, with McAtee producing his finest display in a Forest jersey since signing from Manchester City in the previous transfer window, while Dan Ndoye also performed well.
Such positive showings will give the club some fresh hope as they switch focus to pulling further away from the Premier League relegation zone when they host Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"The minimum requirement is a response," continued Dyche.
"I have always trusted their commitment or their dedication or integrity. It is just go and show your quality.
"James was excellent and Dan was incredibly lively. Igor got another couple and these are good signs."
Star Performer
#19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.1
Nottingham Forest Key Performers
- Igor Jesus: Average Rating 9.1
- #24: Average Rating 8.75
- R. Yates: Average Rating 8.6
- I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.0
- #31: Rating 7.94
The Visitors Notable Players
- #11: Rating 4.14
- #66: Rating 4.1
- #16: Average Rating 4.1
Once the chance to rate players has closed, the rating displayed represents the mean from all the votes.
