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“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” was chanted through the stadium as Nottingham Forest supporters celebrated another result against Malmö. A great deal has occurred since Trevor Francis’s decisive header secured the European Cup back in the year 1979, but Forest continue to hold dear those glorious moments. Equally, significant changes have occurred in the weeks since Sean Dyche assumed control, with Forest appearing refreshed and securing a comfortable win courtesy of goals from Arnaud Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Milenkovic, boosting their hopes of progressing in the Europa League.

Gaining Momentum with Third Straight Win

For Forest, this performance – against a Malmö side that had been inactive for almost three weeks after finishing sixth in their home competition – marked a third consecutive triumph across every tournament and added to the positive energy gained from last weekend’s stunning victory at Anfield. While this fixture was a re-run of Forest’s historic triumph in name, 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 meeting between the sides since the showpiece event 46 years ago.

Forest leaned into the history, honoring the legends of 1979 by providing them, along with their Malmö opponents, the VIP welcome. 13 members of the Malmö's team from then were additionally in attendance. Both teams shared a dinner together before the match. Frank Clark, Colin Barrett and their teammates received a rousing reception when they assembled on the pitch a quarter of an hour before kick-off, and a typically impressive tifo was unveiled in the home stand.

Remembering History

“30th May 1979, Robertson crossed it in from the left,” read half of a large tifo, in capital letters. While nobody required a reminder of what happened next, the rest was unfurled as the squads came out from the dressing rooms. “There is Francis,” it continued. Another stunning display showed Clough watching events beside his right-hand man Taylor on a dugout at the Olympiastadion.

Control from the Outset

So, the hosts had drunk in those wonderful recollections, but what about the performance on the night? It was pretty good, too. They were in full command from the moment the forward fired an attempt off target inside two minutes and built a two-goal advantage by the half-time interval. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header wide and then Abbott, on his first European start, tried his luck.

It felt fitting that Yates, who came to Forest aged eight, made the initial breakthrough in the Malmö defence led by their own homegrown captain, Jansson, formerly of Leeds and Brentford FC. The home defender Milenkovic saw a delivery deflect off a opponent and into the pathway of the midfielder, who finished with his right foot from the edge of the box to register his maiden strike since March.

Another Goal Seals Dominance

Yates was involved in the team's second goal on the verge of the interval, too, his free header saved by Malmö’s goalkeeper Melker Ellborg but the alert forward on hand to tap in the rebound from point-blank range. McAtee, the midfielder given a seldom start and only his second outing since the autumn, was the catalyst, lofting a perfect ball towards his teammate at the back post.

Just moments before, Hudson-Odoi’s driven shot was deflected wide off the back Rösler, the son of former Manchester City striker Uwe, and an unmarked the defender also earlier had a powerful header instinctively repelled by Ellborg, who returned in place of the former Aston Villa goalie Olsen.

Malmö’s Struggles

This was the Swedish side's initial game since the Swedish Allsvenskan concluded on November 9th, and they found it hard to match the home team's intensity. Forest extended the lead to three when Milenkovic applied the finishing touch after his defensive colleague Murillo headed back a set-piece. Yates had a shot blocked, but the Serbian centre-back Milenkovic pounced on the leftovers.

The home side then pushed for more, with the winger dinking a effort on to the crossbar before Sangaré sent an ambitious shot off target from 30 yards. It was one of those nights. The manager, aware of Sunday’s domestic fixture here against Brighton & Hove Albion, made seven changes from the team that surprised the Reds at Anfield recently, when they also scored three times, though he called on Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus during the final period.

Hiccup-Free Night for Forest

It proved a hiccup-free evening for Forest. Dyche could withdraw the defender with the match already boxed off and subsequently introduced 19-year-old full-back Jimmy Sinclair for his senior bow. He talked about the club legends providing “bits of gold” at weekly get-togethers and, nearly fifty years on, the present squad showed they are able of a few nuggets of excitement, as well.