Igor Jesus continued his impressive start to life at Nottingham Forest by scoring his third goal in as many pre-season matches as the Reds played out a 1-1 draw with Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Sunday.
The Brazilian striker has wasted no time making an impact since arriving at the club, maintaining his perfect scoring record in pre-season. However, a second-half penalty denied Oliver Glasner’s side a third consecutive friendly victory during their training camp in Portugal.
Jesus Keeps Up Fine Form
Forest are currently midway through a 12-day pre-season camp in the Algarve, where new head coach Oliver Glasner continues to shape his squad ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
The Reds started brightly, with Morgan Gibbs-White testing the Vitoria defense early on after narrowly missing the target with a long-range effort.
The breakthrough eventually arrived through Igor Jesus. After Ola Aina’s initial effort inside the penalty area failed to beat the goalkeeper, the Brazilian reacted quickest to the loose ball and calmly finished to hand Forest a deserved lead.
The goal marked Jesus’ third in three pre-season appearances, underlining his sharpness and growing confidence heading into the new season.
Forest Miss Chances to Extend Lead
Nottingham Forest looked the more dangerous side before halftime and came close to doubling their advantage.
Full-back Neco Williams had an excellent opportunity from close range but was denied by a smart save, leaving the Reds with only a narrow one-goal cushion at the break.
Glasner’s side continued to show encouraging signs, displaying the pressing style and attacking intent the Austrian coach has been working to implement since taking charge.
Vitoria Fight Back After the Break
The Portuguese outfit found their way back into the contest in the second half when defender Tyler Bindon was adjudged to have fouled Zeega inside the penalty area.
Miguel Nogueira stepped up and confidently converted the resulting spot-kick, leveling the score at 1-1.
Forest continued to search for a winner, with Taiwo Awoniyi going close to scoring his second goal of pre-season. The Nigerian striker fired an effort over the crossbar, but neither side could find the decisive breakthrough before the final whistle.
More Tests Ahead for the Reds
As with Forest’s previous friendlies against Notts County and Blackburn Rovers, the club did not publicly reveal the matchday lineup. Glasner has rotated heavily throughout pre-season, often fielding different XIs in each half as he assesses his squad.
Nottingham Forest will wrap up their Portuguese training camp on Friday with two more friendlies. They will first face Portimonense SAD behind closed doors before taking on Sporting Lisbon later that evening at the Estadio Algarve.
While the result ended Forest’s winning run, the biggest positive remains the outstanding form of Igor Jesus, whose goalscoring touch is quickly becoming one of the standout stories of the club’s pre-season preparations.
