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“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” echoed through the stadium as Nottingham Forest supporters celebrated another win against their Swedish opponents. A great deal has occurred since Trevor Francis’s decisive header clinched the European Cup back in 1979, but the club continue to cherish those memories. Equally, major shifts have occurred in the weeks since the manager assumed control, with the team appearing reinvigorated and securing a comfortable win courtesy of goals from Arnaud Kalimuendo, Yates, and Nikola Milenkovic, enhancing their prospects of progressing in the European competition.

Gaining Momentum with Third Consecutive Victory

For Nottingham Forest, this performance – against a Malmö side that had been inactive for almost three weeks after finishing in sixth place in their domestic league – represented a third consecutive triumph across every tournament and added to the positive energy generated from last weekend’s success at Liverpool. While this fixture was a reminder of the club's historic success in name, the game itself was devoid of any significant tension or jitters.

It proved to be an event dripping in sentiment, an eagerly awaited reunion and the third clash between the teams since the showpiece event over four decades past.

The home side fully embraced the heritage, honoring the legends of 1979 by giving them, along with their Malmö counterparts, the VIP welcome. 13 members of the Swedish club’s squad from that time were also in attendance. Both teams enjoyed a meal together before the kick-off. Forest legends and company were given a rousing welcome when they assembled on the field a quarter of an hour before the start, and a characteristically superb tifo was unveiled in the Trent End.

Recalling the Past

“May 30, 1979, John Robertson delivered the ball from the left,” read one part of a giant banner, in block capitals. While nobody required a reminder of what happened next, the remaining section was revealed as the players came out from the tunnel. “And there’s Francis,” it continued. A second brilliant tifo showed Clough watching events beside his assistant Peter Taylor on a dugout at the Munich stadium.

Control from the Outset

So, the hosts had drunk in those beautiful memories, but what about the showing on the evening? It was pretty good, too. They were in full command from the moment the forward fired an effort wide inside two minutes and built a 2-0 advantage by the half-time interval. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header off target and then Abbott, on his maiden European start, tried his luck.

It felt fitting that Ryan Yates, who joined Forest as an eight-year-old, made the initial breakthrough in the visitors' defense captained by their own academy product captain, Jansson, previously of Leeds United and Brentford FC. The home defender Milenkovic saw a delivery cannon off a defender and into the pathway of Yates, who swept home right-footed from the edge of the penalty area to score his maiden strike since last March.

Second Strike Confirms Control

The scorer was involved in the team's second goal on the brink of the interval, too, his free header saved by Malmö’s shot-stopper Ellborg but the alert forward poised to tap in the loose ball from close range. James McAtee, the playmaker handed a rare start and only his second outing since September, was the spark, chipping a delicious ball towards Yates at the back post.

A minute earlier, Callum Hudson-Odoi low effort was deflected aside off the defender Colin Rösler, son of ex- Manchester City striker Uwe, and an free Milenkovic had earlier had a strong header smartly repelled by the keeper, who returned in place of the ex- Aston Villa goalkeeper Olsen.

Malmö’s Struggles

This was Malmö’s initial game since the Swedish Allsvenskan concluded on 9 November, and they struggled 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 headed back a corner. Yates had a shot stopped, but the Serbian centre-back Milenkovic feasted on the leftovers.

Forest then pushed for more, with the winger dinking a effort on to the crossbar before Sangaré sent an ambitious effort off target from 30 yards. It was one of those evenings. Dyche, aware of the upcoming domestic fixture here against Brighton, implemented seven changes from the side that surprised the Reds at their ground recently, when they additionally netted three times, though he called on Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus during the second half.

Smooth Night for Forest

It turned out to be a hiccup-free night for Forest. Dyche could withdraw Murillo with the game already sewn up and subsequently brought on teenage full-back Jimmy Sinclair for his first-team debut. Dyche talked about the club legends supplying “bits of gold” at regular meetings and, almost five decades on, the current crop showed they are capable of producing of thrills, as well.