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“You’ll never sing that, champions of Europe,” echoed through the ground as Nottingham Forest supporters reveled in another success against Malmö. A great deal has transpired since Trevor Francis’s decisive header secured the European Cup back in the year 1979, but Forest continue to treasure those memories. Equally, major shifts have taken place in the weeks since the manager took charge, with the team looking refreshed and earning a comfortable win thanks to goals from Arnaud Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Milenkovic, enhancing their hopes of progressing in the Europa League.

Building Steam with Another Straight Victory

For Nottingham Forest, this result – against a Malmö side that had been inactive for nearly a month after finishing sixth in their home competition – marked a third straight win across all competitions and further built on the positive energy gained from last weekend’s success at Anfield. While this match was a re-run of Forest’s European Cup triumph in spirit, the encounter itself was free of any significant jeopardy or jitters.

It proved to be an event dripping in sentiment, an eagerly awaited meeting and the third competitive meeting between the sides since the European Cup final over four decades past.

The home side fully embraced the heritage, paying tribute to the legends of that era by providing them, along with their visiting counterparts, the red-carpet treatment. 13 members of the Swedish club’s squad from then were also present. Both teams enjoyed a meal together prior to the kick-off. Frank Clark, Colin Barrett and their teammates received a rousing reception when they gathered on the pitch a quarter of an hour before kick-off, and a typically impressive display was shown in the home stand.

Recalling History

“30th May 1979, John Robertson crossed it in from the left,” displayed half of a large banner, in block capitals. While no one required a reminder of what ensued, the remaining section was unfurled as the squads emerged from the dressing rooms. “And there’s Francis,” it stated. A second stunning tifo showed Clough watching proceedings beside his right-hand man Taylor on a dugout at the Olympiastadion.

Dominance from the Start

So, the hosts had soaked up those beautiful memories, but what about the performance on the evening? It was impressive, as well. They were in complete control from the moment the forward whistled an attempt wide inside the opening moments and established a 2-0 advantage by the half-time interval. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header off target and then Abbott, on his maiden European start, had a go.

It felt fitting that Yates, who came to the club aged eight, made the first dent in the Malmö defence captained by their own homegrown skipper, Pontus Jansson, formerly of Leeds and Brentford. The Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic saw a cross deflect off a opponent and into the path of Yates, who finished right-footed from the edge of the penalty area to register his first goal since last March.

Another Goal Confirms Dominance

The scorer was involved in Forest’s next goal on the brink of the interval, as well, his unmarked header saved by Malmö’s goalkeeper Melker Ellborg but the alert forward poised to convert the rebound from close range. James McAtee, the playmaker given a seldom start and only his second appearance since September, was the spark, lofting a perfect ball towards his teammate at the far post.

Just moments before, Callum Hudson-Odoi low effort was turned aside off the back Rösler, the son of ex- Man City striker Uwe Rösler, and an unmarked the defender also previously had a powerful header smartly repelled by Ellborg, who returned in place of the former Villa goalie Robin Olsen.

Malmö’s Struggles

This was Malmö’s initial game since the domestic league ended on November 9th, and they found it hard to equal the home team's energy. The Reds made it 3-0 when the defender applied the finishing touch after his defensive colleague Murillo headed back a set-piece. Yates had a shot stopped, but the Serbian centre-back Milenkovic pounced on the rebound.

The home side then pushed for more, with Hudson-Odoi chipping a right-foot shot on to the bar before Sangaré sent an optimistic shot off target from distance. It was one of those nights. Dyche, aware of the upcoming league game here against Brighton, made seven changes from the team that stunned Liverpool at their ground last weekend, when they additionally scored three goals, though he called on Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and further fresh legs during the final period.

Hiccup-Free Evening for the Team

It turned out to be a hiccup-free evening for Forest. Dyche could take off Murillo with the match already boxed off and subsequently brought on teenage full-back Jimmy Sinclair for his first-team debut. He talked about the club legends providing “valuable insights” at weekly get-togethers and, almost five decades on, the current crop showed they are capable of a few nuggets of excitement, too.