🔗 Share this article

“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” rang out around the stadium as Nottingham Forest fans reveled in another success against Malmö. A great deal has happened since Francis's winning header secured the European Cup back in 1979, but the club still treasure those glorious moments. Similarly, significant shifts have occurred in the weeks since the manager took charge, with the team appearing reinvigorated and securing a convincing victory thanks to goals from Arnaud Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Nikola Milenkovic, boosting their hopes of progressing in the European competition.

Gaining Momentum with Another Consecutive Win

For Forest, this performance – against a Malmö side that had been inactive for nearly a month after ending sixth in their home competition – represented a third consecutive triumph across every tournament and added to the positive energy gained from the previous week's success at Anfield. While this fixture was a re-run of Forest’s European Cup triumph in spirit, the encounter itself was devoid of any real tension or nerves.

It proved to be an event dripping in nostalgia, an longed-for meeting and the third clash between the sides since the showpiece event 46 years ago.

The home side leaned into the heritage, honoring the heroes of 1979 by providing them, along with their Malmö counterparts, the VIP welcome. 13 members of the Malmö's team from then were also in attendance. The two clubs shared a meal together before the match. Frank Clark, Colin Barrett and their teammates were given a rousing reception when they gathered on the field 15 minutes before the start, and a typically impressive tifo was unveiled in the home stand.

Recalling History

“May 30, 1979, John Robertson crossed it in from the left,” displayed half of a large tifo, in capital letters. While nobody required a reminder of what ensued, the remaining section was unfurled as the players came out from the dressing rooms. “And there’s Francis,” it continued. A second stunning tifo depicted Clough observing events beside his right-hand man Peter Taylor on a bench at the Olympiastadion.

Control from the Start

So, the hosts had soaked up those beautiful memories, but what about the performance on the night? It was pretty good, as well. They were in complete control from the moment the forward whistled an effort off target inside two minutes and built a two-goal 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 the club as an eight-year-old, made the initial breakthrough in the visitors' defense led by their own academy product skipper, Pontus Jansson, previously of Leeds United and Brentford. The Forest centre-back Milenkovic saw a delivery cannon off a defender and into the pathway of the midfielder, who finished right-footed from just inside the box to score his first goal since March.

Second Goal Confirms Dominance

The scorer was implicated in Forest’s second goal on the verge of the interval, as well, his free header saved by the shot-stopper Melker Ellborg but Kalimuendo poised to tap in the loose ball from point-blank range. James McAtee, the playmaker handed a seldom start and just his second outing since September, was the spark, lofting a perfect ball towards Yates at the back post.

Just moments before, Callum Hudson-Odoi low effort was turned wide off the back Colin Rösler, son of former Man City forward Uwe Rösler, and an free Milenkovic also previously had a powerful header instinctively repelled by Ellborg, who was back in place of the former Villa goalkeeper Olsen.

Malmö’s Difficulties

This was the Swedish side's first match since the domestic league ended on November 9th, and they struggled to match the home team's intensity. The Reds made it 3-0 when Milenkovic applied the finishing touch after his centre-back partner Murillo kept alive a corner. Yates had a shot blocked, but the Serbian defender Milenkovic feasted on the leftovers.

Forest then went for the jugular, with Hudson-Odoi dinking a right-foot shot on to the bar before Sangaré sent an ambitious effort off target from distance. It was that kind of nights. The manager, mindful of the upcoming league game here against Brighton & Hove Albion, made multiple alterations from the side that surprised Liverpool at their ground recently, when they additionally scored three times, though he introduced Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and further fresh legs midway through the final period.

Smooth Night for the Team

It proved a flawless evening for Forest. The coach could withdraw the defender with the match already sewn up and later introduced 19-year-old defender Jimmy Sinclair for his first-team debut. He talked about the Forest old guard providing “valuable insights” at weekly get-togethers and, almost five decades on, the present squad showed they are able of producing of excitement, too.