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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.
At first glance Murillo, back after missing Forest’s previous two matches, is an unlikely goalscorer but that would be diminishing the defender’s appetite to contribute at the other end of the pitch. He set the tone in his second match as a Forest player, picking the ball up in the centre circle at Crystal Palace and promptly whizzing past four opponents, fooling Marc Guéhi with a feint on the edge of the box before stinging the palms of Sam Johnstone.
His only other goal this season, the opener at Anfield in Forest’s 3-0 win over Liverpool, was a significant occasion and a smart touch and finish, but this was in a different class. Murillo seized the ball just inside the Fenerbahce half and, blinkers on, set off with one thing in his mind. He brushed off N’Golo Kanté and then Jayden Oosterwolde, powering towards the edge of the box where his diagonal left-foot strike flew into the bottom corner of Ederson’s goal, via Milan Skriniar’s left boot. Domenico Tedesco, the Fenerbahce head coach who had lost just three matches since taking charge last September, shook his head in disbelief but more pain ensued.
Igor Jesus, whose shot a minute after Murillo’s opener forced a last-ditch Oosterwolde block, doubled Forest’s lead from a well-worked corner approaching the interval. Forest had run through corners and free-kicks during the warmup: practice makes perfect? Gibbs-White did brilliantly at the front post to flick Elliot Anderson’s corner towards the back, where Igor Jesus leapt above Mert Muldur to head in. Before then Gibbs-White had another chance but could not generate enough power on his header to beat Ederson, after peeling off towards the penalty spot.
Tedesco threw off his jacket after half an hour and was booked for raging at the Swiss referee, Sandro Scharer, for not giving a first-half penalty against Murillo for handball. The heat only heightened in the second when Gibbs-White put Forest in dreamland. Omari Hutchinson scooped the ball into Igor Jesus, played onside by Nelson Semedo, and the striker spied Gibbs-White in his peripheral vision. Gibbs-White, off balance, nudged the ball through the legs of Ederson.
Gibbs-White celebrated as he usually does, putting his fingers to his ears. Forest had killed the game – and potentially the tie – inside 50 memorable minutes and emphatically muted Fenerbahce. For a few minutes the only sound was the sarcastic oles from the travelling support.
