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Igor Jesus scored twice as Nottingham Forest beat Ferencvaros 4-0 at the City Stadium in the final game of the Europa League stage.
A convincing win was not enough to secure a top eight spot due to results elsewhere, so Forest will compete in the play-offs next month. But it was a confidence-boosting win for Sean Dyche’s side as their form improves.
Forest did frighten their Hungarian opponents when Christopher Zachariassen’s header hit the target, but Robbie Keane’s side capitulated thereafter, overwhelmed by attack after attack from the Premier League side.
Dan Ndoye nearly had a shot on target before Ryan Yates’ low cross was blocked by his own keeper under light pressure from Bence Otvos. James McCarty should have doubled the lead shortly after Jesus’ deflected shot found the corner.
Both first-half goals came from captain Yates, who caused turnovers in possession in the opposition half, with the visitors unable to cope with the intensity, leaving Forest fans wondering how they ended up behind Ferencvaros in the Europa League table.
Nicolas Dominguez’s header hit the foot of the post early in the second half before Jesus scored his second goal of the night. McCarty capped off an impressive night for Forest by scoring his first goal late in the game.
Dyche left a number of key players on the bench and his side will now face either Panathinaikos or Fenerbahce in the play-offs. But Forest’s first thoughts now turn to Sunday’s Premier League showdown with fellow struggling Crystal Palace.
Jesus’ message as forest chases striker
He may have been less able to walk the River Trent as the supporters were so fond of singing, but Jesus walked all over Ferencvaros’ side in what was a surprisingly one-sided encounter. The mobile forwards finally paid off in this overall game.
Jesus’ first goal against Brentford in the Premier League last time out was only his second in 22 games, but his performances in Europe have been much better. The Brazilian has now scored six goals in six games in the Europa League.
The home fans at the City Ground, in particular, have been eager to celebrate their forwards. Only one of his previous goals in all competitions has come at home, a penalty against Porto in October. Dyche hopes there will be more to come.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s return to goal against Brentford was welcome, but questions remain over Forest’s firepower without Chris Wood, hence the signing of Lorenzo Luca and the pursuit of Jean-Philippe Matata. Jesus found form to solve some problems.
Dyche pleased with response – praises McCarty
nottingham forest boss Sean Dyche Speaking at the press conference:
“It was a tough game and they were unbeaten in that aspect. I was pleased with the reaction after Braga’s sub-par performance – it was not statistically normal for us to lose that game but we did. But I was very pleased with the reaction.”
“There are a lot of good signs. It’s obviously not the Braga game but I’m sure there are clear signs of progress overall.
“Tonight was a reminder of the quality and team spirit here. It’s important. You know, (McCarty) scored and the first one to celebrate was Morgan (Gibbs-White), which shows the team spirit and connection.
“I like this aspect, the team feeling is very important.”
Speaking of McCarty, Dyche said: “The players are delighted for him too. He’s frustrated but he’s honest about it and he’s a very likeable guy in the way he goes about his business. “He trains very hard and we just want to relax him a bit.”
“I don’t like to make some tough decisions against him. I took him off at half-time (at Utrecht and Wrexham) and I told him I didn’t like to do that. I’m trying to win games. If it doesn’t work out, you know, there are rules.
“But he was very, very good at accepting that. Not stupid. Not immature. I was definitely happy for him tonight.”
Keane: Opportunities come to players
Ferencvaros head coach Robbie Keane Speaking at the press conference:
“The difference on the pitch compared to us is £650m, that’s the first thing.
“The second thing was the goals we conceded, three of them. One was an own goal, the second was a ball we controlled and then a penalty. It’s disappointing, but overall, be realistic. We’re playing against a Premier League team.”
“You always hope and believe, and as a coach you have to believe you can beat anyone, but it’s always very difficult.
“For 15 minutes we played well and the players were relaxed in the game but once they made a mistake they were gone. You get punished by top teams and that’s why they are good players.
“That’s the difference between the levels. The intensity of the games, the speed, the quality of the players are all at a different level. That’s why it’s the best league in the world.”
“They feel they are playing a Premier League team. They all watch the Premier League. This opportunity is given to them. Normally you don’t make these mistakes. The intensity of the pressing, the intensity of chasing you. They punish you.
“I would say, eight games, seven undefeated, that’s an unbelievable accomplishment for these guys for the team that we played for. You have to give them credit for that because no one gave us a chance with the team that we played for.”
Forest win on numbers
- Nottingham Forest have won three consecutive home games for the first time in Europe’s major football competition while keeping clean sheets each time. Overall, Forest have kept clean sheets in 12 of their last 14 European home games.
- The defeat ended Ferencvaros’ previous seven-game unbeaten run in major European competitions (4 wins, 3 draws), their longest unbeaten run since April 1975, while the Hungarian side have failed to win any of their last eight European away games against English opponents (2 wins, 6 draws).
- Nottingham Forest scored more than four goals in a major European competition for the fourth time and for the first time since March 1979, when they beat Grasshoppers Zurich in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.
- Igor Jesus became the second player in the history of Nottingham Forest to score more than five goals in a major European competition (six), after Gary Birtles scored six goals in the 1978-79 season.
- Igor Jesus is the third Brazilian player to score twice for an English club in a major European competition, following Roberto Firmino of Liverpool in 2017-18 and 2021-22 and Carlos Vinicius of Tottenham Hotspur in 2020-21.
- Nottingham Forest’s Ryan Yates set up Igor Jesus’ goal tonight, becoming the first player from an English club to score, assist and own goal in the same season in the Europa League.
- Tonight, 19-year-old Zach Abbott makes his third European start for Nottingham Forest; Chris Fairclough (sixth in 1983-84) is the only Forest teenager to start more games in Europe.
- Ferencvaros’ Bence Otwirth became the fourth player in UEFA Europa League history to score an own goal, concede a penalty and receive a yellow card, and the first since Borussia Dortmund’s Dan-Axel Zagadou against Rangers in February 2022.
