Nottingham Forest found “a real identity” under new head coach Vitor Pereira as they thumped Fenerbahce 3-0 three days before the visit of Liverpool.
Pereira was appointed as Forest’s fourth head coach of the season last week following the dismissal of Sean Dyche – and his first game came on Thursday night.
The former Wolves boss took his new side to Turkey to face Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 playoff, naming his strongest possible lineup.
It resulted in a 3-0 victory for Forest as goals from Murillo, Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White secured a valuable lead ahead of the return leg next week.
Per FotMob, though Forest only saw 43 percent of possession they dominated with 23 shots to Fenerbahce’s six, with seven on target and four big chances.
And speaking to TNT Sports after the game, captain Gibbs-White spoke of his delight at playing with “a real identity” in a clear reference to their time under Dyche.
“I felt like we had a real identity out there today. I think we defended incredibly and with the ball as well,” the goalscorer explained.
“We created so many chances, it could have been even more.”
Nottingham Forest vs. Fenerbahce (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson (Dominguez 67′), Sangare; Hutchinson (Ndoye 61′), Gibbs-White (Yates 67′), Hudson-Odoi (McAtee 83′); Igor Jesus (Lucca 61′)
Subs not used: Gunn, Willows, Jair, Morato, Abbott, Bakwa
Asked about the most significant change under Pereira, Gibbs-White said: “His message to us was we’re going to have a real identity of how we play and how we defend as a team.
Forest coasted to an easy victory in Istanbul (Emrah Gurel/AP)
“I feel like him and his staff have brought a real positive energy into the group and we’ve all bought into what he wants straight away.
“I think that’s the most important thing, it’s buying into each other and understanding each other.”
In his own post-match interview, Pereira took the same view: “I asked them to express themselves on the pitch – with organisation.
“That was what I asked them and they did it.”
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira got off to the perfect start with a 3-0 victory in the Europa League (Mike Egerton/PA)
He added: “I realised before the game that they have a lot of quality. They need results and they need to enjoy the game.
“If they enjoy the way that they are playing, I think they can play at a high level. They have the quality, we have talents in the team.
“They just need organisation and confidence, to get the confidence again and play.”
Those words could be considered an omen for Liverpool who will hope to avoid the effects of Forest’s new manager bounce – as it is clear they are already in a better position than they were under Dyche.