Hungarian champions Ferencváros have been a two-faced team lately. In Europe, they have collected four wins, three draws, and—count them—zero losses in the UEFA Europa League league phase. Meanwhile at home, they have fallen behind ETO FC Győr and Paks in the domestic league, currently sitting in third place. The former team just beat them 3–1 on their own turf over the weekend.
Now, on Thursday, 29 January, they had to face off against the English Premier League side Nottingham Forest, in Nottingham, United Kingdom, the city of the legendary Robin Hood.
The home side, the back-to-back winners of the 1979 and 1980 European Cup, are in similar shoes to their visitors, Fradi. After taking seventh place in the Premier League last season and qualifying for Europe, they are currently just 17th in the league and thus are locked in a relegation battle. It is safe to say that the abrupt firing of manager Nuno Espírito Santo in early September did not work out for the club.
The game started with Ferencváros’s Kristoffer Zachariassen—playing his 200th competitive game for his club—hitting the post with a header after a corner. However, after that ‘wake-up call’ for the home side, it was all Nottingham for the rest of the first half. In the 17th minute, Bence Ötvös put the ball into his own net after a low cross into the box by Ryan Yates, despite being under no pressure.
Nottingham got to a shooting position in front of the FTC goal uncomfortably fast, with the visitors barely keeping the ball to themselves for seconds. This could only end in one way: with Forest doubling their lead. Igor Jesus drilled a low shot into the far corner from 16 yards out in the 21st minute, making it two. After taking an active part in forcing an own goal, Yates added an assist to his performance for the night as well.
For the rest of the first half, both sides created a couple of chances, but the net was not rattled from the inside again. Going into the break, there was little doubt which was the better team on the pitch, and it was not the green-and-white one from Budapest.
With Igor Jesus finding his second and Nottingham’s third goal of the night in the 55th minute, there was really no question left unanswered for the game. James McAtee set the final 4–0 scoreline from a penalty in the 90th minute.
Ferencváros suffered their first defeat in their EL campaign, which cost them a top 8 finish in the league table, ultimately closing at 12th. Thus, they will play a play-off round in February, with the chance to advance to the Round of 16.
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