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The Brazilian attacker found the net on two occasions as Nottingham Forest rounded off the group stage of the European competition with a convincing triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.

Forest had already secured a place in the knockout round play-offs and went into this fixture with a slim possibility of reaching the league's elite, even though they required other matches to fall in their favor.

Those results failed to materialize but this confident display will give Forest fans confidence that their team can come through the home-and-away tie to advance to the last 16.

A Ferencvaros midfielder struck the upright with a headed effort inside the opening stages for the visitors – who are managed by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from then on.

Forest broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when a delivery from midfield was deflected in by Bence Otvos and doubled the lead four minutes later – the striker squeezing a shot in at the far post for his tenth strike of the season.

Jesus' 11th came early in the second half when he timed a run perfectly to escape the defence and then place a shot beyond the shot-stopper.

The third strike ended the visitors' aspirations of making a comeback and instead the hosts scored again when the impressive James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a infringement by the hapless Bence Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.

Europe's secondary club competition knockout phase play-off lottery takes place on the final Friday of January (midday UK time), where Forest might face either the Turkish side or the Greek club.

"It's more than the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do well as a unit, the entire team," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.

"That was another stride forward, but it is a positive one."

Forest Analysis: Jesus Catches Eye as Recent Arrival Watches On

Igor Jesus has been a standout performer for Nottingham Forest in European competition this season with half of his eleven strikes coming in the Europa League.

His brace also means he has scored three goals in his last two games and the threat of a challenge for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on.

Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week brought in temporarily and he was watching this match from the stands.

This development may well have been on the striker's mind as he was outstanding against the opposition, delivering two excellent finishes and generally being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his pace and movement.

The forward was not alone in catching the eye, with James McAtee turning in his finest display in a Nottingham Forest shirt since joining from the champions last summer, while the Swiss international also performed well.

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 Crystal Palace on the weekend.

"The minimum requirement is a response," continued Dyche.

"I've never questioned their work ethic or their loyalty or honesty. It is just go and show your ability.

"McAtee was excellent and Dan Ndoye was incredibly lively. Igor got another couple and these are positive indicators."

Star Performer

Forest Top Players

• #19: Rating 9.1
• #24: Rating 8.8
• #22: Average Rating 8.6
• I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.01
• N. Milenković: Rating 7.9

Ferencváros Notable Players

• B. Yusuf: Rating 4.1
• Júlio Romão: Average Rating 4.1
• #16: Rating 4.1