Nottingham Forest finally broke their long-running drought in European competitions, securing their first win in three decades. The club last tasted victory in Europe back in 1995 at the home of French side Auxerre. That long wait ended on Thursday night when Brazilian forward Igor Jesus netted the decisive goal in a 2-1 win against Dutch club Utrecht.
Jesus entered the Europa League match as a substitute and made an immediate impact—scoring just 82 seconds after stepping onto the pitch. His celebration was instantly recognizable, as the lifelong Dragon Ball Z fan mimicked Goku’s iconic energy blast pose.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕,”
𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓.
His late strike in the 88th minute sealed the victory after the first leg had ended 1-1. This was his fourth goal in Europe and seventh overall since joining Nottingham Forest from Botafogo last summer. The 24-year-old added that he is determined to maintain this form and contribute even more.
Igor Jesus’ Rise From Brazil to Europe
Igor Jesus’ professional career began only five years ago when he burst onto the scene at 18 with Coritiba, scoring three goals in 24 matches and helping the club return to Serie A. Although he struggled initially in the Brazilian top tier, he moved to UAE side Shabab Al-Ahli before returning to Botafogo in 2024.
At Botafogo, Igor Jesus transformed into a standout performer, leading the side to both the Serie A title and the Copa Libertadores, attracting interest from several European clubs.
He made his debut for Brazil in October last year, scoring in a World Cup qualifier against Chile. Nottingham Forest coach Sean Dyche praised the young striker and the team’s recent performances.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔,”
𝑫𝒚𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒎.
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