Forest's Striker Fires a Brace as Nottingham Forest Conclude European Group Stage with Victory over Hungarian Opponents
At a Glance
- Forest were previously qualified to the play-offs.
- Bence Otvos own goal gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead.
- Igor Jesus' fifth goal in Europe puts Forest in control.
- Striker nets again with a sharp finish in the latter period.
- James McAtee caps a excellent performance with a spot-kick.
The Brazilian attacker scored twice as the Premier League side concluded the league phase of the European competition with a comfortable win against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
Forest had already secured a berth in the knockout round play-offs and went into this game with a small chance of making the league's elite, although they needed other matches to fall in their favor.
That did not happen but this assured performance will give Forest fans confidence that their side can come through the home-and-away tie to advance to the last 16.
Kristoffer Zachariassen did hit the post with a headed effort inside the first 10 minutes for the away team – coached 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 – the striker squeezing a shot in at the back post for his 10th goal of the campaign.
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 drive an effort past the shot-stopper.
That goal killed off Ferencvaros' hopes of mounting a recovery and instead Forest scored again when the impressive James McAtee scored from a penalty after a foul by the unfortunate Otvos inside the box on Dan Ndoye.
The Europa League knockout phase play-off draw is scheduled on the final Friday of January (midday UK time), where Forest might face either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos.
"It is not just the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these guys to do well as a unit, the whole squad," said manager Sean Dyche.
"This is another stride forward, but it is a positive one."
Team Breakdown: Jesus Catches Eye as Recent Arrival Observes from Stands
Igor Jesus has been a revelation for Forest in Europe this season with half of his eleven strikes scored in the Europa League.
This double also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the threat of a challenge for his place in attack could be providing motivation.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week brought in temporarily and he was observing this match from the stands.
That may well have been on Jesus' thoughts as he was outstanding against the opposition, delivering two excellent goals and generally being a menace to the opposition backline with his speed and movement.
The forward was not the only one in impressing, with James McAtee producing his best performance in a Forest jersey since joining from Manchester City last summer, while the Swiss international also performed well.
Such positive showings will give the club 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 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 was super sharp. Jesus got another two and these are good signs."
Player of the Match
#19 The Striker
Average rating: 9.10
Forest Top Players
- Igor Jesus: Average Rating 9.1
- #24: Average Rating 8.8
- #22: Rating 8.63
- #6: Average Rating 8.01
- N. Milenković: Rating 7.9
Ferencváros Notable Players
- #11: Average Rating 4.1
- Júlio Romão: Average Rating 4.1
- K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.1
After the opportunity to rate players has ended, the rating shown represents the mean from all the submissions.
