For Nottingham Forest, and particularly Vítor Pereira and the 1,200 supporters who signed up to this trip to Istanbul, an evening they will not forget in a hurry. Pereira’s first match in charge could scarcely have been more impressive than the statement victory Forest recorded at Fenerbahce to put themselves in a commanding position to reach the Europa League last 16. By the end the yellow and navy stronghold had emptied and the Forest fans present savoured every moment. First they sang: “Can we play you every week?” Then a chorus of: “Where’s your famous atmosphere?”
Evangelos Marinakis’s grand aim at the outset of this season, before moving on to his fourth manager since August, was to win this competition across the Bosphorus in Besiktas in May and, for all of the chaos and valid criticism, on this evidence it is very much an achievable aim. Forest are in a position of power before Fenerbahce visit for the second leg next Thursday.
Murillo is the buccaneering Brazilian centre-back with a penchant for shooting and his fourth Forest goal and second this season opened the scoring in style. Igor Jesus headed in from a corner routine at the end of the first half and Morgan Gibbs-White capped the scoring on 50 minutes. By that point the reality is Forest should have led by a bigger margin, too. Midway through the second half Pereira had the luxury of being able to withdraw the midfielder and Elliot Anderson, presumably with the bigger picture and Liverpool’s visit to the City Ground on Sunday in mind.
