Forest's Striker Fires Twice as Nottingham Forest Round Off Europa League Group Stage with Win over Hungarian Opponents
At a Glance
- Forest were previously qualified to the play-offs.
- Bence Otvos deflection gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead.
- Igor Jesus' fifth goal in Europe puts Forest in control.
- Striker nets again with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- James McAtee rounds off a excellent performance with a penalty.
Igor Jesus scored twice as Nottingham Forest concluded the league phase of the European competition with a convincing triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the home stadium.
Forest had already secured a place in the knockout round play-offs and entered this game with a slim possibility of making the league's elite, even though they needed several results to fall in their favor.
That did not happen but this confident performance will give the supporters belief that their side can come through the two-legged play-off to advance to the round of sixteen.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the post with a headed effort inside the opening stages for the visitors – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from then on.
They opened the scoring in the 17th minute when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by Bence Otvos and added a second four minutes later – Jesus firing an effort 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 escape the backline and then place a shot beyond the goalkeeper.
The third strike killed off Ferencvaros' aspirations of making a comeback and instead the hosts added a fourth when the excellent McAtee converted a spot-kick after a foul by the unfortunate Otvos inside the box on the winger.
Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round lottery is scheduled on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Forest might face either the Turkish side or the Greek club.
"It is not just the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do well as a unit, the entire team," said manager Sean Dyche.
"This is another stride forward, but it is a good one."
Team Breakdown: Striker Shines as Recent Arrival Watches On
Jesus has been a standout performer for Nottingham Forest in Europe this season with six of his eleven strikes scored in the tournament.
His brace also means he has got a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the threat of a challenge for his position in attack could be spurring him on.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was observing this match from the stands.
This development may well have been on the striker's thoughts as he was outstanding against the opposition, delivering two excellent finishes and overall being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his pace and runs.
Jesus was not alone in catching the eye, with McAtee turning in his finest display in a Forest jersey since joining from Manchester City in the previous transfer window, while the Swiss international also performed well.
These encouraging performances will give Forest some renewed optimism 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," added Dyche.
"I have always trusted their work ethic or their loyalty or honesty. It is just about displaying your quality.
"James was excellent and Dan was incredibly lively. Igor got another couple and these are good signs."
Player of the Match
Number: 19 The Striker
Average rating: 9.1
Forest Key Performers
- #19: Average Rating 9.1
- J. McAtee: Rating 8.75
- #22: Rating 8.6
- #6: Average Rating 8.0
- N. Milenković: Average Rating 7.9
The Visitors Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.14
- Júlio Romão: Average Rating 4.12
- K. Zachariassen: Rating 4.09
After the opportunity to rate players has ended, the rating displayed represents the mean from all the submissions.
