Igor Jesus has made his case for more Nottingham Forest minutes in about the best way possible – by coming off the bench and scoring the winner.
The Brazilian struck in the 87th minute of Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Aston Villa. It gave Forest their first Premier League win of the season.
Liam Delap had opened the scoring before Allyson equalised for Villa. Igor Jesus then replaced Delap after 74 minutes and needed just 13 minutes to make the difference.
Speaking to Globo Esporte afterwards, the former Botafogo man was understandably delighted.
“It’s my first goal in the Premier League this season. We know how important that is for us,” he said. “We’ve got our first three points and I’m very happy to score my first Premier League goal and help my team get our first win.”
Training pays off for Forest
There was plenty to like about the winning goal, too. Morgan Gibbs-White produced a clever backheel to create the opening, before Igor Jesus finished and headed straight towards the travelling Forest supporters.
The Brazilian says that kind of combination hasn’t appeared from nowhere.
“Every day at the club we try to do the same thing,” he explained. “We’re happy with the result. We fought all the time and took our opportunities.”
He recently spoke about wanting more from himself after producing 21 goal contributions in 55 appearances last season. Forest also rejected approaches from Tottenham, Porto and Juventus during the summer.
Now he’s started this Premier League campaign by providing a decisive contribution from the bench.
“It’s not about competition”
There is, of course, another rather expensive factor in Forest’s attack now. Delap arrived from Chelsea in a deal which could eventually reach £50m and signed a five-year contract. He also got his first league goal for Forest on Saturday.
Globo Esporte therefore asked Igor Jesus directly about competing with the Englishman for a place.
“He’s a good player. It’s not about competition,” the Brazilian replied. “It’s good for us because we have lots of quality players. We have to fight for the position, like we do every day in training.”
“We’re happy because everyone gives their best every day. We’re together to win games.”
So, perhaps there’s a little competition after all. But both scoring in the same game is about as good an outcome as the club could have hoped for.
