🔗 Share this article

“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” rang out around the City Ground as Nottingham Forest followers reveled in another result against their Swedish opponents. Much has happened since Trevor Francis’s decisive header secured the European Cup in 1979, but Forest still cherish those glorious moments. Similarly, major changes have taken place in the weeks since Sean Dyche took charge, with the team looking refreshed and earning a convincing win courtesy of goals from Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Milenkovic, enhancing their prospects of advancing in the European competition.

Gaining Momentum with Third Straight Win

For Nottingham Forest, this result – against a Swedish side that had been inactive for almost three weeks after finishing in sixth place in their home competition – marked a third straight win across all competitions and added to the positive energy gained from the previous week's stunning victory at Anfield. While this fixture was a reminder of Forest’s European Cup success in spirit, the game itself was devoid of any significant tension or nerves.

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

The home side leaned into the heritage, honoring the legends of 1979 by providing them, along with their visiting opponents, the red-carpet treatment. 13 members of the Malmö's team from that time were also in attendance. The two clubs enjoyed a meal together prior to the match. Forest legends and company were given a rousing reception when they gathered on the pitch 15 minutes before the start, and a characteristically superb tifo was shown in the home stand.

Recalling History

“May 30, 1979, Robertson crossed it in from the left,” read half of a large tifo, in block capitals. While nobody needed reminding of what happened next, the rest was revealed as the squads came out from the dressing rooms. “And there’s Francis,” it continued. Another stunning tifo showed Brian Clough observing proceedings beside his right-hand man Peter Taylor on a dugout at the Munich stadium.

Dominance from the Start

So, the hosts had drunk in those beautiful recollections, but what about the performance on the night? It was pretty good, as well. They were in complete control from the moment the forward fired an effort off target inside the opening moments and established a two-goal lead by the half-time interval. Domínguez sent an early header off target and then Abbott, on his first European start, tried his luck.

It seemed appropriate that Yates, who joined the club aged eight, made the initial breakthrough in the visitors' defence captained by their own academy product skipper, Jansson, formerly of Leeds United and Brentford. The home centre-back Nikola Milenkovic saw a delivery cannon off a defender and into the path of Yates, who swept home with his right foot from the edge of the box to score his maiden strike since last March.

Another Strike Confirms Control

Yates was implicated in Forest’s second goal on the brink of half-time, too, his free header saved by the shot-stopper Ellborg but the alert forward poised to convert the rebound from close range. James McAtee, the playmaker given a seldom start and just his second appearance since September, was the spark, lofting a perfect ball towards Yates at the back post.

Just moments before, Hudson-Odoi’s low effort was deflected aside off Malmö defender Rösler, son of former Man City forward Uwe Rösler, and an unmarked the defender also earlier had a powerful header instinctively saved by the keeper, who was back in place of the former Aston Villa goalkeeper Olsen.

Malmö’s Struggles

This was Malmö’s first match since the Swedish Allsvenskan concluded 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 centre-back partner Murillo kept alive a set-piece. Yates had a shot blocked, but the Serbia defender Milenkovic pounced on the leftovers.

The home side then went for the jugular, with the winger chipping a right-foot shot on to the crossbar before Sangaré sent an optimistic shot off target from 30 yards. It was one of those nights. The manager, aware of the upcoming league game here against Brighton & Hove Albion, implemented multiple alterations from the team that stunned the Reds at Anfield recently, when they additionally scored three goals, though he called on Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus midway through the second half.

Hiccup-Free Evening for the Team

It turned out to be a flawless evening for Nottingham Forest. Dyche could withdraw Murillo with the match already boxed off and subsequently brought on teenage defender Jimmy Sinclair for his first-team debut. He talked about the club legends supplying “bits of gold” at regular meetings and, almost five decades on, the present squad showed they are capable of producing of thrills, too.