🔗 Share this article Igor Jesus Fires a Brace as The Reds Conclude European Campaign with Victory over Ferencvaros The Brazilian forward has now scored eleven strikes in every tournament for the club this campaign. At a Glance The home side were previously qualified to the play-offs. A Ferencvaros defender own goal gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead. Igor Jesus' European strike puts Forest in control. Forward nets again with a clinical effort in the latter period. James McAtee caps a great performance with a penalty. The Brazilian attacker found the net on two occasions as the Premier League side rounded off the league phase of the Europa League with a convincing triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground. The hosts had already secured a berth in the next qualifying round and went into this game with a small chance of reaching the top eight, even though they required other matches to fall in their favor. Those results failed to materialize but this confident performance will give the supporters confidence that their side can navigate the two-legged play-off to reach the round of sixteen. Kristoffer Zachariassen did hit the upright with a header inside the opening stages for the visitors – who are managed by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from then on. Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was deflected in by Bence Otvos and added a second four minutes later – Jesus firing an effort in at the back post for his tenth strike of the campaign. The forward's eleventh goal arrived soon after the restart when he timed a run perfectly to break clear of the backline and then drive an effort beyond the shot-stopper. The third strike killed off Ferencvaros' aspirations of making a comeback and instead Forest added a fourth when the impressive McAtee converted a spot-kick after a foul by the hapless Bence Otvos inside the box on Dan Ndoye. Europe's secondary club competition knockout phase play-off draw takes place on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Forest could be drawn against 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 Forest boss Sean Dyche. "That was another step, but it is a positive one." Forest Analysis: Striker Shines as Recent Arrival Watches On Igor Jesus has been a standout performer for Nottingham Forest in European competition this season with six of his 11 goals coming in the tournament. His brace also means he has scored three goals in his last two games and the prospect of competition for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on. Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was watching this game from the directors' box. This development may well have been on the striker's thoughts as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, delivering two superb goals and generally being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his pace and movement. Jesus was not the only one in catching the eye, with James McAtee producing his best performance in a Forest jersey since joining from the champions in the previous transfer window, while Dan Ndoye also impressed. These encouraging performances will give the club some renewed optimism as they switch focus to increasing the gap from the bottom three when they host their London rivals on Sunday. "All you can ask for is a response," continued Dyche. "I've never questioned their work ethic or their loyalty or integrity. It is just about displaying your quality. "McAtee was very good and Dan was super sharp. Igor got another couple and these are positive indicators." Star Performer #19 The Striker Average rating: 9.10 Forest Key Performers Igor Jesus: Average Rating 9.10 J. McAtee: Average Rating 8.75 #22: Average Rating 8.63 I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.01 N. Milenković: Average Rating 7.9 Ferencváros Ratings B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.14 #66: Rating 4.12 #16: Average Rating 4.09 Once the chance to rate players has ended, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions.