🔗 Share this article

“You’ll never sing that, champions of Europe,” rang out around the stadium as Nottingham Forest followers celebrated a further success against their Swedish opponents. Much has happened since Trevor Francis’s winning header clinched the European Cup in 1979, but the club continue to treasure those glorious moments. Equally, major shifts have occurred in the weeks since Sean Dyche assumed control, with the team looking reinvigorated and securing a comfortable victory courtesy of goals from Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Milenkovic, enhancing their hopes of progressing in the European competition.

Building Steam with Another Consecutive Win

For Nottingham Forest, this result – against a Malmö side that had not played for almost three weeks after finishing sixth in their domestic league – represented a third consecutive win across every tournament and added to the positive energy gained from last weekend’s stunning victory at Anfield. While this match was a re-run of Forest’s European Cup success in spirit, the encounter itself was free of any real tension or nerves.

It proved to be an occasion dripping in sentiment, an eagerly awaited reunion and the third competitive meeting between the teams since the showpiece event 46 years ago.

Forest leaned into the history, honoring the heroes of that era by providing them, along with their Malmö counterparts, the red-carpet treatment. 13 members of the Malmö's squad from then were also in attendance. Both teams shared a meal together before the kick-off. Forest legends and company were given a rousing welcome when they assembled on the pitch a quarter of an hour before kick-off, and a characteristically impressive display was unveiled in the home stand.

Recalling History

“30th May 1979, Robertson delivered the ball from the left flank,” read half of a large banner, in capital letters. While nobody needed reminding of what ensued, the remaining section was revealed as the players came out from the tunnel. “And there’s Francis,” it stated. Another stunning display showed Clough watching proceedings beside his right-hand man Taylor on a dugout at the Munich stadium.

Control from the Start

So, the hosts had drunk in those wonderful memories, but what about the performance on the evening? It was strong, too. They were in complete control from the moment Kalimuendo fired an effort wide inside two minutes and built a 2-0 advantage by the half-time interval. Domínguez sent an early header wide and then Abbott, on his first European start, had a go.

It felt fitting that Yates, who joined the club aged eight, made the first dent in the visitors' defense led by their own academy product skipper, Pontus Jansson, formerly of Leeds and Brentford FC. The Forest defender Nikola Milenkovic saw a cross deflect off a defender and into the path of the midfielder, who swept home with his right foot from the edge of the box to register his first goal since last March.

Second Strike Confirms Dominance

The scorer was implicated in Forest’s second goal on the brink of the interval, too, his free header parried by the goalkeeper Ellborg but the alert forward poised to tap in the rebound from point-blank range. James McAtee, the playmaker given a rare start and only his second appearance since September, was the catalyst, lofting a delicious ball towards his teammate at the far post.

A minute earlier, Hudson-Odoi’s driven shot was turned aside off Malmö defender Rösler, son of ex- Manchester City striker Uwe Rösler, and an unmarked the defender had earlier had a strong header instinctively repelled by the keeper, who was back in place of the ex- Aston Villa goalie Robin Olsen.

Malmö’s Difficulties

This was the Swedish side's first match since the domestic league concluded on 9 November, and they found it hard to match Forest’s energy. The Reds made it 3-0 when the defender scored after his centre-back partner Murillo kept alive a corner. Yates had a volley blocked, but the Serbia centre-back Milenkovic pounced on the leftovers.

Forest then went for the jugular, with the winger chipping a right-foot shot on to the bar before Ibrahim Sangaré sent an ambitious effort wide from 30 yards. It was one of those evenings. Dyche, aware of Sunday’s league game here against Brighton & Hove Albion, made seven changes from the team that stunned the Reds at their ground recently, when they also scored three times, though he called on substitutes and Igor Jesus midway through the second half.

Hiccup-Free Evening for the Team

It turned out to be a flawless night for Forest. Dyche could take off the defender with the match already boxed off and later brought on 19-year-old defender Sinclair for his senior bow. He talked about the club legends supplying “valuable insights” at regular meetings and, almost five decades on, the current crop demonstrated they are able of producing of thrills, too.