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“You’ll never sing that, champions of Europe,” echoed through the stadium as Nottingham Forest fans reveled in a further result against their Swedish opponents. Much has occurred since Trevor Francis’s winning header secured the European Cup in the year 1979, but Forest continue to hold dear those glorious moments. Similarly, significant shifts have taken place in the weeks since Sean Dyche took charge, with Forest looking reinvigorated and earning a comfortable win courtesy of goals from Kalimuendo, Yates, and Milenkovic, boosting their prospects of advancing in the European competition.

Building Momentum with Third Straight Win

For Nottingham Forest, this result – against a Swedish side that had not played for almost three weeks after ending in sixth place in their home competition – marked a third consecutive triumph across every tournament and added to the positive energy gained from the previous week's success at Liverpool. While this fixture was a re-run of Forest’s historic success in name, the game itself was free of any significant tension or jitters.

It proved to be an event dripping in nostalgia, an eagerly awaited reunion and the third clash between the teams since the European Cup final 46 years ago.

Forest leaned into the heritage, paying tribute to the legends of that era by giving them, along with their visiting opponents, the VIP welcome. 13 members of the Swedish club’s team from that time were also in attendance. The two clubs enjoyed a meal together before the kick-off. Forest legends and their teammates were given a tumultuous reception when they gathered on the field a quarter of an hour before kick-off, and a typically superb tifo was shown in the Trent End.

Remembering the Past

“May 30, 1979, Robertson crossed it in from the left,” read half of a giant banner, in capital letters. While no one required a reminder of what ensued, the remaining section was revealed as the players came out from the dressing rooms. “And there’s Francis,” it continued. A second stunning display depicted Clough watching proceedings beside his right-hand man Taylor on a bench at the Munich stadium.

Control from the Outset

So, Forest had drunk in those wonderful memories, but what about the showing on the evening? It was pretty good, as well. They were in complete control from the moment the forward fired an attempt off target inside the opening moments and established a 2-0 lead by the half-time interval. Domínguez sent an early header wide and then Abbott, on his maiden European start, tried his luck.

It seemed appropriate that Ryan Yates, who joined Forest aged eight, made the first dent in the visitors' defense captained by their own homegrown captain, Jansson, formerly of Leeds United and Brentford FC. The Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic saw a delivery deflect off a opponent and into the pathway of Yates, who swept home right-footed from just inside the box to register his first goal since March.

Second Strike Seals Control

The scorer was implicated in Forest’s next goal on the brink of half-time, too, his free header saved by the shot-stopper Melker Ellborg but Kalimuendo on hand to tap in the loose ball from close range. McAtee, the midfielder given a seldom start and only his second appearance since September, was the catalyst, chipping a perfect ball towards Yates at the far post.

Just moments before, Hudson-Odoi’s driven shot was deflected wide off Malmö defender Colin Rösler, the son of ex- Man City forward Uwe Rösler, and an free Milenkovic also earlier had a powerful header smartly saved by Ellborg, who returned in place of the former Aston Villa goalie Olsen.

Opponent's Struggles

This was Malmö’s initial game since the Swedish Allsvenskan concluded on November 9th, and they found it hard to equal the home team's intensity. The Reds extended the lead to three when Milenkovic scored after his defensive colleague Murillo headed back a set-piece. The captain had a shot stopped, but the Serbian defender Milenkovic pounced on the leftovers.

The home side then pushed for more, with the winger dinking a right-foot shot on to the bar before Sangaré sent an optimistic effort wide from distance. It was that kind of evenings. The manager, mindful of the upcoming league game here against Brighton, made multiple alterations from the side that surprised Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, when they also netted three times, though he introduced Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and further fresh legs during the final period.

Hiccup-Free Night for the Team

It turned out to be a hiccup-free night for Nottingham Forest. Dyche could withdraw Murillo with the match long since sewn up and subsequently introduced 19-year-old defender Sinclair for his first-team debut. Dyche talked about the Forest old guard providing “valuable insights” at weekly get-togethers and, nearly fifty years on, the current crop demonstrated they are capable of a few nuggets of excitement, as well.