🔗 Share this article Igor Jesus Scores a Brace as Nottingham Forest Round Off Europa League Group Stage with Victory over Ferencvaros The Brazilian forward has now notched eleven strikes in all competitions for the club this campaign. At a Glance Forest were previously qualified to the play-offs. Bence Otvos own goal gives hosts a first-half lead. The striker's European strike puts Forest in control. Striker adds a third with a clinical effort in the second half. The midfielder caps a excellent performance with a penalty. Igor Jesus scored twice as Nottingham Forest concluded the league phase of the Europa League with a comfortable win against Ferencvaros at the City Ground. Forest had already secured a place in the knockout round play-offs and went into this fixture with a small chance of reaching the top eight, although they required several results to fall in their favor. Those results failed to materialize but this assured display will give Forest fans confidence that their team can come through the home-and-away tie to reach the last 16. A Ferencvaros midfielder struck 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 Ryan Yates' cross was deflected in by the defender and doubled the lead shortly after – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the far post for his tenth strike of the campaign. The forward's 11th came early in the second half when he made a perfectly-timed run to escape the backline and then place a shot past the goalkeeper. That goal killed off the visitors' aspirations of making a comeback and instead the hosts added a fourth when the excellent James McAtee converted a spot-kick after a infringement by the hapless Bence Otvos inside the box on Dan Ndoye. Europe's secondary club competition knockout phase play-off lottery is scheduled on Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Forest might face either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos. "It is not just the scoreline, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the whole squad," said Forest boss Sean Dyche. "That was another stride forward, but it is a positive step." Team Breakdown: Jesus Catches Eye as Recent Arrival Watches On Igor Jesus has been a revelation for Nottingham Forest in Europe this term with six of his 11 goals scored in the Europa League. His brace also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his last two games and the threat of competition for his place in attack could be providing motivation. Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently brought in temporarily and he was watching this match from the stands. That may well have been on the striker's thoughts as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, delivering two superb goals and generally being a menace to the opposition backline with his pace and movement. The forward was not alone in impressing, with McAtee turning in his best performance in a Nottingham Forest shirt since joining from the champions in the previous transfer window, while Dan Ndoye also performed well. These encouraging performances will give Forest some fresh hope as they turn their attention to increasing the gap from the bottom three when they welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday. "All you can ask for is a reaction," continued the manager. "I have always trusted their commitment or their loyalty or integrity. It is just go and show your ability. "James was very good and Dan Ndoye was super sharp. Jesus got another two and these are positive indicators." Star Performer Number: 19 Igor Jesus Average rating: 9.1 Nottingham Forest Top Players Igor Jesus: Rating 9.10 J. McAtee: Rating 8.8 R. Yates: Rating 8.63 #6: Rating 8.0 N. Milenković: Rating 7.9 The Visitors Ratings B. Yusuf: Rating 4.1 #66: Rating 4.12 K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.09 After the opportunity to submit ratings has ended, the rating shown represents the average from all the votes.