Nottingham Forest took a huge step towards the last 16 of the Europa League after they defeated Fenerbahce 3-0 in the first leg of their play-off tie.

Goals from Murillo, Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White secured a winning start to life as Forest boss for Vitor Pereira, who was even able to rest key players with plenty of time to go in Turkiye.

Shortly after Mert Muldur headed over the target for Fenerbahce, Murillo opened the scoring in stunning fashion. He dribbled through the opposition defence before firing into the bottom-right corner from distance in the 21st minute.

The hosts saw a penalty appeal denied following a VAR check when the ball struck Murillo's arm, though it was by his side, and their misery grew before the break when Jesus headed in from a yard out after Gibbs-White flicked on a corner.

The Brazilian striker then returned the favour five minutes into the second half, squaring the ball to Gibbs-White in the box, and the England international managed to sneak his shot through the legs of Ederson despite losing his balance.

Marco Asensio saw a flick easily denied by Stefan Ortega before Callum Hudson-Odoi was kept out by Ederson at the other end, as Forest held onto their three-goal advantage ahead of the second leg at the City Ground next week.

Igor doubling our lead.  pic.twitter.com/AeesFk0opy

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 19, 2026

Data Debrief: Dream start for Pereira

Pereira probably anticipated a bigger challenge from his former side, but Forest were dominant throughout. They produced 2.86 expected goals (xG) from 23 shots to Fenerbahce's 0.48 from six attempts.

Jesus' seven goals in the Europa League this season are now the outright most by a Forest player in a campaign in major European competition, while he also has the most in the tournament in the 2025-26 campaign.

He was responsible for 1.23 of Forest's xG, produced from three shots, while he also provided an assist despite completing just eight passes before being substituted off in the 61st minute.