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“You’ll never sing that, champions of Europe,” echoed through the stadium as Forest fans reveled in another result against Malmö. Much has transpired since Francis's winning header secured the continental trophy in the year 1979, but Forest still treasure those memories. Similarly, major changes have taken place in the weeks since Sean Dyche assumed control, with Forest looking reinvigorated and securing a comfortable win courtesy of goals from Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Nikola Milenkovic, boosting their prospects of advancing in the European competition.

Gaining Steam with Another Consecutive Win

For Nottingham Forest, this result – against a Malmö side that had not played for nearly a month after ending in sixth place in their home competition – represented a third straight win across every tournament and further built on the momentum gained from the previous week's success at Anfield. While this match was a re-run of the club's historic triumph in name, the encounter itself was free of any real jeopardy or jitters.

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

Forest leaned into the history, paying tribute to the heroes of that era by giving them, along with their Malmö counterparts, the VIP welcome. 13 members of the Malmö's team from then were also present. The two clubs shared a dinner together prior to the kick-off. Forest legends and their teammates were given a tumultuous reception when they gathered on the field 15 minutes before the start, and a characteristically impressive display was shown in the home stand.

Recalling the Past

“30th May 1979, Robertson crossed it in from the left flank,” displayed one part of a large tifo, in block capitals. While no one required a reminder of what happened next, the rest was unfurled as the squads came out from the dressing rooms. “There is Francis,” it continued. A second stunning tifo depicted Clough watching events beside his assistant Taylor on a bench at the Munich stadium.

Control from the Start

So, the hosts had soaked up those beautiful memories, but what about the performance on the evening? It was pretty good, too. They were in complete control from the moment the forward fired an attempt wide inside the opening moments and built a two-goal advantage by the break. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header off target and then Zach Abbott, on his first European start, tried his luck.

It felt fitting that Ryan Yates, who came to Forest as an eight-year-old, made the first dent in the Malmö defense led by their own academy product captain, Pontus Jansson, previously of Leeds United and Brentford. The home centre-back Nikola Milenkovic saw a delivery deflect off a opponent and into the pathway of the midfielder, who swept home right-footed from the edge of the box to score his maiden strike since March.

Second Goal Seals Dominance

The scorer was involved in the team's next goal on the brink of the interval, as well, his free header parried by Malmö’s goalkeeper Ellborg but Kalimuendo poised to convert the rebound from close range. McAtee, the playmaker given a rare start and just his second appearance since the autumn, was the spark, lofting a perfect ball towards Yates at the far post.

Just moments before, Hudson-Odoi’s low effort was deflected wide off the back Rösler, son of ex- Man City forward Uwe Rösler, and an free the defender had previously had a strong header smartly repelled by the keeper, who was back in place of the ex- Villa goalie Olsen.

Opponent's Struggles

This was the Swedish side's first match since the Swedish Allsvenskan concluded on 9 November, and they found it hard to equal the home team's energy. Forest extended the lead to three when Milenkovic scored after his defensive colleague Murillo kept alive a set-piece. Yates had a volley stopped, but the Serbia centre-back Milenkovic feasted on the leftovers.

Forest then pushed for more, with Hudson-Odoi chipping a right-foot shot on to the crossbar before Sangaré sent an optimistic shot wide from distance. It was one of those nights. The manager, aware of Sunday’s league game here against Brighton, made seven changes from the side that surprised Liverpool at their ground last weekend, when they also netted three times, though he introduced substitutes and Igor Jesus during the final period.

Smooth Night for Forest

It turned out to be a flawless night for Forest. The coach could take off the defender with the match already sewn up and later brought on teenage defender Sinclair for his first-team debut. He talked about the Forest old guard providing “bits of gold” at regular meetings and, nearly fifty years on, the present squad showed they are capable of a few nuggets of excitement, as well.