Nottingham Forest secured their place as a seeded side in the UEFA Europa League play-off round with a dominant 4-0 victory over Ferencváros in their first-ever meeting with Hungarian opposition.

While a top-eight finish had always been unlikely, Forest wasted no time in asserting their authority, bursting out of the blocks to strengthen their position in the play-off places.

Ibrahim Sangaré sounded an early warning with a long-range effort, before Dan Ndoye threatened soon after, weaving into the penalty area and firing a shot that was blocked by Dávid Gróf.

Ferencváros struggled to contain the hosts and fell behind in unfortunate fashion. Ryan Yates’ inviting cross appeared harmless, yet Bence Ötvös inadvertently turned the ball into his own net under little pressure.

The setback proved costly for Robbie Keane’s side, who quickly lost their composure. Forest capitalised on a high turnover, allowing Igor Jesus to surge forward and curl a precise effort into the bottom corner from outside the box to double the lead.

Forest continued to pile on the pressure, and James McAtee went close to adding a third when his near-post header forced an excellent save from Gróf.

The hosts resumed their attacking dominance after the interval, creating a flurry of chances in the opening stages. Nicolás Domínguez rattled the post with a clever header before Ndoye again tested the visiting goalkeeper as Forest pushed to put the contest beyond doubt.

The third goal arrived on 55 minutes through a moment of individual brilliance from Jesus. Sangaré’s hopeful ball forward was expertly controlled as the forward held off his marker and smashed a right-footed volley into the net.

With the result effectively sealed, manager Sean Dyche was able to rotate his squad, though the changes denied Jesus the chance to become Forest’s first European hat-trick scorer.

The closing stages offered little drama, with Ferencváros unable to mount a comeback and Forest having already done enough to secure their objective.

McAtee capped a memorable evening by converting a late penalty after Ötvös hauled down Ndoye in the area, sealing Forest’s third consecutive European victory for the first time since the 1978/79 season.