Igor Jesus Fires a Brace as Nottingham Forest Round Off Europa League Group Stage with Victory over Ferencvaros
At a Glance
- Forest were already through to the knockout round.
- A Ferencvaros defender own goal gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead.
- Igor Jesus' European strike puts Forest in control.
- Striker nets again with a sharp finish in the latter period.
- The midfielder caps a great display with a penalty.
Igor Jesus found the net on two occasions as the Premier League side concluded the group stage of the European competition with a comfortable win against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
The hosts had already secured a place in the next qualifying round and went into this fixture with a small chance of making the league's elite, even though they needed other matches to fall in their favor.
Those results failed to materialize but this assured performance will give the supporters confidence that their side can navigate the home-and-away tie to advance to the last 16.
A Ferencvaros midfielder did hit the upright with a header inside the opening stages for the away team – who are managed by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from then on.
Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was deflected in by the defender and added a second shortly after – Jesus firing an effort in at the back post for his tenth strike of the campaign.
Jesus' eleventh goal arrived 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 shot-stopper.
The third strike killed off the visitors' aspirations of mounting a recovery and instead Forest scored again when the impressive James McAtee converted a spot-kick after a infringement by the unfortunate Otvos inside the box on the winger.
The Europa League qualifying round lottery is scheduled on Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Forest might face either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos.
"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.
"This is another stride forward, but it is a positive step."
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Jesus has been a revelation for Nottingham Forest in European competition this season with six of his eleven strikes scored 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 the forward line could be providing motivation.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently brought in temporarily and he was watching this game from the directors' box.
This development may well have been on the striker's thoughts as he was outstanding against the opposition, delivering two excellent finishes and generally being a constant threat to the visitors' defence with his pace and movement.
Jesus was not alone in impressing, with James McAtee producing his best performance 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 Forest some renewed optimism as they turn their attention to pulling further away from the bottom three when they host their London rivals on the weekend.
"The minimum requirement is a reaction," added Dyche.
"I've never questioned their work ethic or their loyalty or integrity. It is just go and show your ability.
"James was excellent and Dan Ndoye was incredibly lively. Igor got another two and these are good signs."
Player of the Match
Number: 19 Igor Jesus
Match rating: 9.10
Forest Key Performers
- #19: Rating 9.1
- #24: Average Rating 8.75
- R. Yates: Average Rating 8.6
- #6: Rating 8.0
- #31: Rating 7.94
The Visitors Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.1
- #66: Average Rating 4.1
- #16: Average Rating 4.1
Once the chance to submit ratings has ended, the score shown is the average from all the submissions.
