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“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” was chanted through the City Ground as Nottingham Forest followers celebrated a further win against Malmö. A great deal has happened since Trevor Francis’s winning header clinched the European Cup in the year 1979, but the club still cherish those memories. Similarly, major changes have taken place in the weeks since the manager took charge, with the team looking reinvigorated and securing a convincing victory thanks to goals from Kalimuendo, Yates, and Nikola Milenkovic, enhancing their hopes of advancing in the Europa League.

Gaining Steam with Third Straight Victory

For Nottingham Forest, this result – against a Swedish side that had not played for almost three weeks after finishing in sixth place in their domestic league – represented a third straight triumph across every tournament and further built on the positive energy generated from the previous week's success at Liverpool. While this fixture was a re-run of the club's European Cup success in name, the encounter itself was free of any significant tension or nerves.

This was an event dripping in sentiment, an longed-for meeting and the third meeting between the sides since the European Cup final 46 years ago.

The home side leaned into the heritage, honoring the heroes of that era by giving them, along with their Malmö counterparts, the VIP welcome. 13 members of the Swedish club’s squad from then were also present. Both teams enjoyed a dinner together before the match. Forest legends and company received a tumultuous welcome when they assembled on the field 15 minutes before the start, and a typically impressive display was unveiled in the home stand.

Recalling History

“May 30, 1979, Robertson crossed it in from the left,” read one part of a large tifo, in capital letters. While nobody needed reminding of what happened next, the remaining section was revealed as the squads emerged from the tunnel. “And there’s Francis,” it stated. Another brilliant display showed Brian Clough watching events beside his right-hand man Peter Taylor on a bench at the Munich stadium.

Control from the Outset

So, the hosts had drunk in those beautiful recollections, but what about the performance on the evening? It was impressive, too. They were in full command from the moment Kalimuendo whistled an effort wide inside two minutes and established a 2-0 lead by the half-time interval. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header off target and then Zach Abbott, on his maiden European start, had a go.

It seemed appropriate that Yates, who joined Forest aged eight, made the first dent in the visitors' defence captained by their own academy product captain, Jansson, previously of Leeds United and Brentford. The Forest defender Milenkovic saw a delivery cannon off a opponent 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 March.

Second Goal Seals Control

The scorer was implicated in the team's second goal on the verge of half-time, too, his unmarked header parried by Malmö’s shot-stopper Melker Ellborg but the alert forward on hand to convert the loose ball from point-blank range. McAtee, the playmaker given a rare start and only his second appearance since the autumn, was the spark, chipping a perfect ball towards Yates at the far post.

Just moments before, Hudson-Odoi’s driven shot was turned wide off Malmö back Colin Rösler, son of former Manchester City striker Uwe, and an unmarked the defender had previously had a strong header smartly saved by Ellborg, who returned in place of the former Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin 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 energy. The Reds extended the lead to three when the defender applied the finishing touch after his defensive colleague Murillo headed back a set-piece. The captain had a volley stopped, but the Serbian centre-back Milenkovic pounced on the rebound.

The home side then pushed for more, with Hudson-Odoi dinking a right-foot shot on to the bar before Ibrahim Sangaré sent an optimistic shot off target from 30 yards. It was one of those evenings. Dyche, mindful of the upcoming league game here against Brighton & Hove Albion, implemented seven changes from the team that stunned the Reds at their ground recently, when they additionally scored three times, though he introduced substitutes and Igor Jesus during the final period.

Smooth Night for the Team

It proved a flawless evening for Nottingham Forest. The coach could take off the defender with the match long since sewn up and subsequently introduced teenage full-back Jimmy Sinclair for his first-team debut. Dyche talked about the club legends providing “bits of gold” at weekly get-togethers and, nearly fifty years on, the current crop showed they are able of a few nuggets of thrills, too.