Vitor Pereira made the perfect start to his reign as new Nottingham Forest boss as they claimed a stylish victory at Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off tie.

The visitors dominated from start to finish to record their biggest ever away win in European competition.

Forest will now be strong favourites to advance to the last 16 - where either Midtjylland or Real Betis await - when the second leg gets under way at the City Ground on 26 February (20:00 GMT).

In a performance brimming with adventure and confidence, returning central defender Murillo surged through midfield to open the scoring with a 20-yard strike that zipped past home goalkeeper Ederson into the bottom right corner.

It was largely one-way traffic in the opening period as a Fenerbahce side containing a smattering of players with Premier League experience struggled to retain possession and cope with Forest's intensity.

Aside from a Talisca effort which cannoned into the arm of Murillo and prompted sustained calls for a penalty, which was not awarded after a video assistant referee (VAR) check, there was little for the home fans to get excited about.

Instead, the visiting supporters became more audible as the evening progressed as their side put aside their struggles in the Premier League, which led to Pereira coming in to replace Sean Dyche.

And they were able to rejoice just three minutes later, when Igor Jesus registered his seventh goal in the competition with a close-range header from Morgan Gibbs-White's near-post flick on.

Jesus' strike also broke Garry Birtles' club record of most goals in a single European campaign - six when Forest won the European Cup in 1979.

Any notion they might sit back after the break content with their two-goal lead was quickly dispelled five minutes after the restart.

Jesus and Gibbs-White reversed their roles as provider and goalscorer as the England midfielder tapped in to ensure a wonderful first ever trip to Turkey for the two-time former champions of Europe.

Pereira became the fourth man in the Forest hot seat this term when took over following Dyche's dismissal earlier this month.

And given his appointment, to arguably the most precarious job in the Premier League, was only officially confirmed four days ago, things could not have gone much better for the 57-year-old against a club he managed in 2021.

His team played with purpose and were better in every department than a Fenerbahce side yet to lose any of their 22 games in the Turkish Super Lig this season.

Forest were undoubtedly aided by the woeful performance of the hosts who slipped to their heaviest home defeat for three years but there was still much to admire.

Murillo, who was absent for Dyche's final two games, was a commanding presence at the back, while Ibrahim Sangare and Elliot Anderson laid a strong platform for the success in midfield.

Unlike in their dismal 0-0 draw against Wolves, there was also a genuine cutting edge in attack, with Jesus working superbly in tandem with the elusive Gibbs-White.

With a tough game approaching on Sunday against Liverpool as Forest get back to the reality of a domestic relegation battle, Pereira will have been delighted to have been afforded the opportunity to take off key men Jesus, Anderson and Gibbs-White long before the final whistle.