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“You’ll never sing that, champions of Europe,” echoed through the City Ground as Nottingham Forest supporters celebrated a further success against Malmö. A great deal has transpired since Trevor Francis’s decisive header clinched the European Cup in 1979, but the club continue to cherish those memories. Equally, major shifts have taken place in the five weeks since Sean Dyche assumed control, with the team appearing refreshed and securing a comfortable victory courtesy of goals from Arnaud Kalimuendo, Yates, and Milenkovic, enhancing their hopes of progressing in the European competition.

Building Momentum with Another Straight Victory

For Forest, this performance – against a Swedish side that had been inactive for nearly a month after ending in sixth place in their home competition – marked a third straight win across all competitions and added to the momentum generated from the previous week's success at Anfield. While this fixture was a reminder of Forest’s European Cup triumph in spirit, the encounter itself was free of any real tension or jitters.

This was an event filled with nostalgia, an eagerly awaited meeting and the third meeting between the teams since the showpiece event 46 years ago.

Forest leaned into the history, honoring the heroes of that era by providing them, along with their visiting counterparts, the VIP welcome. Thirteen members of the Malmö's team from that time were additionally present. The two clubs shared a dinner together before the match. Frank Clark, Colin Barrett and their teammates were given a tumultuous reception when they gathered on the pitch a quarter of an hour before kick-off, and a typically impressive tifo was shown in the Trent End.

Remembering the Past

“May 30, 1979, John Robertson crossed it in from the left,” read half of a giant tifo, in capital letters. While no one needed reminding of what ensued, the remaining section was unfurled as the squads came out from the dressing rooms. “And there’s Francis,” it stated. Another brilliant display depicted Clough watching proceedings beside his right-hand man Peter Taylor on a bench at the Munich stadium.

Dominance from the Start

So, Forest had soaked up those wonderful memories, but what about the showing on the night? It was strong, too. They were in full command from the moment Kalimuendo fired an attempt off target inside the opening moments and built a two-goal lead by the break. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header wide and then Zach Abbott, on his maiden European start, tried his luck.

It seemed appropriate that Yates, who came to the club aged eight, made the first dent in the Malmö defense captained by their own homegrown skipper, Pontus Jansson, previously of Leeds and Brentford FC. The Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic saw a delivery deflect off a opponent and into the pathway of the midfielder, who swept home with his right foot from just inside the penalty area to score his first goal since last March.

Another Strike Seals Dominance

The scorer was involved in the team's next goal on the brink of the interval, as well, his free header saved by Malmö’s shot-stopper Melker Ellborg but the alert forward on hand to tap in the loose ball from point-blank range. James McAtee, the midfielder given a rare start and only his second appearance since the autumn, was the spark, lofting a perfect ball towards Yates at the back post.

A minute earlier, Callum Hudson-Odoi driven shot was deflected wide off the back Rösler, son of ex- Manchester City forward Uwe Rösler, and an unmarked Milenkovic also earlier had a powerful header smartly repelled by Ellborg, who returned in place of the ex- Aston Villa goalkeeper Olsen.

Malmö’s Struggles

This was the Swedish side's initial game since the domestic league ended on 9 November, and they found it hard to match Forest’s energy. The Reds made it 3-0 when the defender applied the finishing touch after his centre-back partner Murillo kept alive a corner. The captain had a shot stopped, but the Serbian defender Milenkovic feasted on the rebound.

The home side then pushed for more, with the winger dinking a effort on to the crossbar before Sangaré sent an ambitious shot off target from distance. It was that kind of evenings. The manager, mindful of Sunday’s domestic fixture here against Brighton, made seven changes from the team that surprised Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, when they additionally netted three goals, though he introduced Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus during the final period.

Hiccup-Free Night for Forest

It proved a flawless night for Forest. The coach could take off Murillo with the match already boxed off and later introduced 19-year-old full-back Jimmy Sinclair for his first-team debut. Dyche talked about the club legends supplying “valuable insights” at regular meetings and, almost five decades on, the present squad showed they are able of producing of excitement, too.