Nottingham Forest Beat Ferencvaros 4-0 As Igor Jesus Nets Twice In City Ground Show

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Nottingham Forest finished their Europa League league phase with a dominant 4-0 victory over Ferencvaros at the City Ground, as Igor Jesus struck twice and James McAtee converted a late penalty, while Sean Dyche maintained a perfect defensive home record in the competition and Forest secured 13th place in the standings.

Dyche’s side entered the final group fixture knowing progression to the last 16 required an improbable sequence, with seven teams above them needing to drop points, yet Forest still produced a strong performance against Robbie Keane’s team, who ultimately ended one position higher in 12th.

Forest’s attacking display revolved around Igor Jesus, who scored in both halves, while Bence Otvos endured a difficult night with an own goal and a late foul for the penalty, and McAtee took advantage from the spot to complete a convincing scoreline against Ferencvaros.

The opening stages brought an early scare for Forest when Kristoffer Zachariassen rose highest and headed against the post, but the hosts responded in the 17th minute as Ryan Yates drilled a low cross and Otvos diverted the ball past David Grof, sparking protests from Ferencvaros, who argued Yates had fouled Gabi Kanichowsky in the buildup.

Forest swiftly doubled the advantage four minutes later after another firm Yates challenge, this time a sliding tackle on Cadu that officials judged legal, allowed Igor Jesus to surge forward into space and guide a composed finish across Grof, giving Dyche’s team firm control before half-time.

Early in the second half, Ibrahim Sangare clipped a lofted pass over the visiting defence, Igor Jesus powered between defenders and showed balance to collect before guiding in Forest’s third, while Ferencvaros almost replied when Bamidele Yusuf saw a deflected effort loop against the crossbar, ahead of Otvos tripping Dan Ndoye in the 90th minute and McAtee calmly sending Grof the wrong way from the penalty.

Igor Jesus continued a productive continental campaign after also scoring twice in a 2-2 draw with Real Betis in September, becoming only the third Brazilian to record multiple braces for an English club in one major European season, matching Roberto Firmino’s efforts for Liverpool in 2017-18 and 2021-22 and Carlos Vinicius’ exploits for Tottenham in 2020-21.

The forward’s sixth goal of the tournament means Igor Jesus is now just the second player in Nottingham Forest history to reach at least five goals in a single major European season, levelling Gary Birtles’ tally of six from 1978-79, when Forest lifted the European Cup, while this latest win also reflected the underlying data, with Forest posting 2.56 expected goals to Ferencvaros’ 0.67 in a match that capped a solid, if limited, Europa League run.