Nottingham Forest were impressive going forward in their 2-2 Europa League draw against Real Betis, in what was a special night for Igor Jesus in particular.
Scoring a quickfire brace to put the Reds into the lead in Seville, Forest fans were in awe of Igor Jesus’ display as the Brazilian etched himself into the club’s history books.
Such was his battling presence that Jesus was compared with Carlos Tevez by Darren Fletcher on commentary, fighting for every ball alongside his two goals.
The Brazilian’s performance against Betis has now left Ange Postecoglou with a dilemma in the striking department, but his substitutions in Seville offered a hint about his plans for the position.
Ange Postecoglou dropped striker hint against Real Betis
Alongside Jesus’ £10m arrival from Botafogo, Forest signed Arnaud Kalimuendo for £26m to provide some much-needed competition for Chris Wood.
It was the Frenchman who replaced Jesus just past the hour mark in Seville, though, rather than the experienced Kiwi who scored 20 Premier League goals last season.
Turning 34 in December, it’s unreasonable to expect Wood to start on a weekend and then again in Europe, which perhaps explains the Reds’ transfer outlay on two strikers, protecting Wood so that he can be at his best in the Premier League.
Postecoglou is clearly a fan of Jesus but has remained faithful to Wood in his two league games in charge of the club, further emphasising the idea that the £36m striker outlay this summer was designed to maintain the New Zealand star’s fitness as well as providing competition.
Clearly, Jesus’ efforts both against Betis and Swansea in the Carabao Cup highlight that he is providing this competition, but Kalimuendo still has work to do to reach the levels of his rivals.
Arnaud Kalimuendo struggled in his Real Betis cameo
It was thought that when he arrived, Kalimuendo might be Postecoglou’s preferred striker given his attributes, but the French star hasn’t yet hit the ground running in the Garibaldi.
He has featured off the bench in all of Postecoglou’s games in charge thus far, with Wednesday night’s cameo against Betis perhaps his most frustrating showing.
| Statistic | Arnaud Kalimuendo vs Real Betis |
| Shots | 0 |
| Pass accuracy | 63% |
| Duels won | 0/5 |
| Possession lost | 6 |
A series of poor touches stood out in his 35 minutes on the pitch, with one in particular coming after he was found with space in the box but couldn’t control the ball to create an opportunity.
Kalimuendo’s passing was poor, too, at 63% accuracy, while losing possession six times simply won’t be acceptable in a Postecoglou system.
The Frenchman clearly has work to do, then, as he is currently being outshone by Jesus in the striking department despite costing over twice as much.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
