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“You’ll never sing that, champions of Europe,” rang out through the City Ground as Nottingham Forest supporters celebrated a further win against Malmö. Much has transpired since Trevor Francis’s winning header clinched the European Cup in 1979, but the club still treasure those glorious moments. Equally, major shifts have occurred in the five weeks since Sean Dyche assumed control, with the team looking reinvigorated and securing a comfortable victory courtesy of goals from Arnaud Kalimuendo, Yates, and Nikola Milenkovic, boosting their prospects of advancing in the European competition.

Building Steam with Another Consecutive Victory

For Forest, this result – against a Malmö side that had been inactive for almost three weeks after ending in sixth place in their domestic league – marked a third consecutive triumph across every tournament and added to the momentum 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 encounter itself was devoid of any significant tension or nerves.

This was an event dripping in sentiment, an longed-for reunion and the third clash between the teams since the showpiece event 46 years ago.

The home side fully embraced the history, paying tribute to the heroes of 1979 by providing them, along with their visiting opponents, the VIP welcome. Thirteen members of the Swedish club’s team from that time were additionally present. Both teams enjoyed a dinner together prior to the kick-off. Forest legends and company were given a tumultuous welcome when they assembled on the field a quarter of an hour before kick-off, and a characteristically superb display was shown in the home stand.

Recalling History

“May 30, 1979, John Robertson crossed it in from the left,” displayed one part of a giant tifo, in capital letters. While nobody required a reminder of what ensued, the rest was revealed as the players came out from the dressing rooms. “There is Francis,” it continued. A second brilliant display showed Clough observing proceedings beside his right-hand man Taylor on a dugout at the Olympiastadion.

Control from the Start

So, Forest had soaked up those beautiful memories, but what about the performance on the night? It was impressive, too. They were in complete control from the moment Kalimuendo whistled an attempt wide inside the opening moments and established a 2-0 advantage by the break. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header off target and then Zach Abbott, on his maiden European start, had a go.

It seemed appropriate that Ryan Yates, who joined Forest aged eight, made the first dent in the Malmö defense captained by their own homegrown skipper, Jansson, formerly of Leeds United and Brentford. The home centre-back Nikola Milenkovic saw a delivery deflect off a defender and into the path of Yates, who swept home right-footed from the edge of the penalty area to register his first goal since last March.

Second Goal Confirms Control

Yates was involved in the team's next goal on the brink of the interval, too, his unmarked header saved by the goalkeeper Ellborg but Kalimuendo on hand to tap in the rebound from close range. McAtee, the playmaker given a seldom start and only his second appearance since the autumn, was the catalyst, chipping a delicious ball towards his teammate at the back post.

Just moments before, Callum Hudson-Odoi low effort was deflected wide off Malmö back Colin Rösler, the son of former Man City forward Uwe Rösler, and an free the defender also earlier had a powerful header instinctively repelled by Ellborg, who returned in place of the ex- Aston Villa goalie Olsen.

Opponent's Struggles

This was the Swedish side's first match since the domestic league concluded on 9 November, and they found it hard to match Forest’s energy. The Reds extended the lead to three when Milenkovic applied the finishing touch after his defensive colleague Murillo headed back a corner. Yates had a shot stopped, but the Serbian centre-back Milenkovic feasted on the rebound.

Forest then pushed for more, with Hudson-Odoi dinking a right-foot shot on to the crossbar before Ibrahim Sangaré sent an ambitious shot wide from 30 yards. It was one of those evenings. The manager, mindful of Sunday’s league game here against Brighton, made seven changes from the side that stunned the Reds at Anfield last weekend, when they also netted three goals, though he called on substitutes and Igor Jesus midway through the second half.

Hiccup-Free Evening for the Team

It turned out to be a hiccup-free night for Forest. Dyche could take off Murillo with the game already boxed off and later introduced teenage defender Sinclair for his first-team debut. He talked about the club legends providing “valuable insights” at regular meetings and, almost five decades on, the current crop demonstrated they are capable of a few nuggets of excitement, too.