Igor Jesus Fires Twice as Nottingham Forest Conclude Europa League Group Stage with Victory over Hungarian Opponents
At a Glance
- Forest were already through to the knockout round.
- Bence Otvos deflection gives hosts a opening period lead.
- The striker's European strike puts Forest in command.
- Forward adds a third with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- The midfielder caps a excellent performance with a spot-kick.
Igor Jesus scored twice as the Premier League side rounded off the league phase of the European competition with a convincing triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
The hosts had already secured a place in the knockout round play-offs 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.
That did not happen but this confident performance will give Forest fans confidence that their team can come through the two-legged play-off to reach the last 16.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the post with a header inside the first 10 minutes for the away team – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was all Forest from then on.
Forest broke the deadlock in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was deflected in by the defender and added a second four minutes later – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the back post for his tenth strike of the campaign.
The forward's 11th arrived soon after the restart when he timed a run perfectly to break clear of the defence and then place a shot beyond the goalkeeper.
That goal killed off Ferencvaros' aspirations of making a comeback and instead the hosts scored again when the impressive James McAtee scored from a penalty 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 Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Forest might face either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos.
"It's more than 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 step, but it is a positive one."
Team Breakdown: Striker Shines as Recent Arrival Watches On
Igor Jesus has been a revelation for Forest in European competition this season with half of his 11 goals coming in the tournament.
His brace also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the prospect of competition for his position in attack could be spurring him on.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca was recently brought in temporarily and he was observing this game from the directors' box.
This development may well have been on Jesus' mind as he was impressive against the opposition, delivering two excellent goals and overall being a constant threat to the visitors' defence with his pace and runs.
Jesus was not alone in impressing, with McAtee turning in his finest display in a Nottingham Forest shirt since signing from Manchester City last summer, while Dan Ndoye also impressed.
Such positive showings will give Forest some renewed optimism as they switch focus to pulling further away from the bottom three when they welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"The minimum requirement is a response," continued the manager.
"I've never questioned their work ethic or their dedication or honesty. It is just go and show your ability.
"James was excellent and Dan Ndoye was super sharp. Jesus got another two and these are positive indicators."
Player of the Match
#19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.1
Nottingham Forest Key Performers
- #19: Rating 9.1
- J. McAtee: Rating 8.75
- R. Yates: Rating 8.63
- #6: Rating 8.01
- N. Milenković: Average Rating 7.9
Ferencváros Ratings
- #11: Rating 4.1
- Júlio Romão: Rating 4.12
- K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.09
Once the chance to rate players has ended, the rating displayed represents the average from all the submissions.
