Igor Jesus Fires Twice as Nottingham Forest Round Off European Campaign with Victory over Hungarian Opponents
Match Summary
- The home side were previously qualified to the knockout round.
- A Ferencvaros defender deflection gives Nottingham Forest a first-half lead.
- The striker's European strike puts Forest in command.
- Striker adds a third with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- James McAtee caps a excellent display with a penalty.
Igor Jesus found the net on two occasions as the Premier League side concluded the league phase of the Europa League with a comfortable triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
The hosts had previously guaranteed a place in the next qualifying round and entered this fixture with a slim possibility of reaching the league's elite, even though they required several results to go their way.
Those results failed to materialize but this confident performance will give the supporters belief that their side can come through the two-legged play-off to reach the round of sixteen.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the post with a headed effort inside the first 10 minutes for the visitors – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was all Forest from then on.
Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was deflected in by Bence Otvos and doubled the lead four minutes later – Jesus firing an effort in at the far post for his tenth strike of the season.
The forward's eleventh goal came early in the second half when he made a perfectly-timed run to break clear of the defence and then place a shot beyond the goalkeeper.
That goal ended the visitors' aspirations of mounting a recovery and instead Forest scored again when the excellent McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a infringement by the unfortunate Bence Otvos inside the box on the winger.
The Europa League knockout phase play-off draw is scheduled on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Nottingham Forest could be drawn against 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 whole squad," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"That was another step, but it is a positive one."
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 term with six of his eleven strikes coming in the tournament.
His brace also means he has got a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the prospect of competition for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week signed on loan and he was watching this match from the stands.
That may well have been on Jesus' mind as he was impressive against Ferencvaros, producing two superb goals and overall being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his pace and runs.
Jesus was not the only one in catching the eye, with McAtee turning in his finest display in a Nottingham Forest shirt since signing from the champions last summer, while Dan Ndoye also performed well.
Such positive showings will give the club some renewed optimism as they switch focus to pulling further away from the Premier League relegation zone when they welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"The minimum requirement is a reaction," added the manager.
"I have always trusted their work ethic or their dedication or integrity. It is just go and show your quality.
"James was excellent and Dan Ndoye was super sharp. Igor got another two and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
Number: 19 Igor Jesus
Match rating: 9.10
Nottingham Forest Key Performers
- Igor Jesus: Rating 9.10
- J. McAtee: Rating 8.75
- #22: Rating 8.6
- I. Sangaré: Rating 8.0
- N. Milenković: Rating 7.94
Ferencváros Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Rating 4.1
- Júlio Romão: Average Rating 4.12
- #16: Rating 4.09
Once the chance to submit ratings has ended, the rating displayed represents the mean from all the submissions.
