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“You’ll never sing that, champions of Europe,” rang out through the stadium as Nottingham Forest supporters reveled in a further success against their Swedish opponents. A great deal has transpired since Francis's winning header secured the continental trophy back in 1979, but the club continue to treasure those memories. Equally, major changes have taken place in the weeks since Sean Dyche took charge, with the team appearing reinvigorated and earning a convincing victory courtesy of goals from Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Milenkovic, enhancing their prospects of progressing in the European competition.

Building Steam with Another Straight Victory

For Forest, this performance – against a Swedish side that had been inactive for nearly a month after finishing sixth in their domestic league – represented a third straight triumph across all competitions and further built on the momentum gained from last weekend’s stunning victory at Anfield. While this match was a re-run of Forest’s European Cup triumph in spirit, the game itself was free of any real jeopardy or nerves.

This was an event dripping in sentiment, an longed-for meeting and the third competitive meeting between the sides since the showpiece event 46 years ago.

Forest fully embraced the history, honoring the heroes of 1979 by giving them, along with their Malmö opponents, the red-carpet treatment. 13 members of the Malmö's squad from that time were also present. The two clubs shared a meal together before the match. Forest legends and company received a rousing reception when they assembled on the pitch a quarter of an hour before the start, and a characteristically superb display was unveiled in the Trent End.

Recalling the Past

“May 30, 1979, Robertson delivered the ball from the left flank,” read half of a giant banner, in block capitals. While no one needed reminding of what happened next, the rest was unfurled as the players came out from the tunnel. “There is Francis,” it continued. A second brilliant tifo showed Clough observing events beside his assistant Taylor on a dugout at the Olympiastadion.

Control from the Start

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

It felt fitting that Yates, who joined Forest as an eight-year-old, made the first dent in the visitors' defence led by their own homegrown skipper, Jansson, formerly of Leeds United and Brentford FC. The home centre-back Nikola Milenkovic saw a cross deflect off a opponent and into the pathway of Yates, who finished right-footed from just inside the box to register his maiden strike since last March.

Second Strike Seals Dominance

The scorer was implicated in the team's second goal on the verge of half-time, too, 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 just his second outing since the autumn, was the spark, lofting a delicious ball towards his teammate at the far post.

A minute earlier, Hudson-Odoi’s driven shot was turned wide off Malmö defender Rösler, the son of former Man City striker Uwe, and an unmarked Milenkovic also previously had a strong header smartly repelled by the keeper, who returned in place of the former Aston Villa goalkeeper Olsen.

Opponent's Struggles

This was the Swedish side's first match since the domestic league ended on November 9th, and they found it hard to match the home team's intensity. The Reds made it 3-0 when the defender applied the finishing touch after his defensive colleague Murillo kept alive a set-piece. The captain had a volley stopped, but the Serbia centre-back Milenkovic pounced on the leftovers.

The home side then went for the jugular, with Hudson-Odoi chipping a effort on to the bar before Ibrahim Sangaré sent an ambitious effort off target from 30 yards. It was one of those evenings. The manager, aware of Sunday’s domestic fixture here against Brighton, made seven changes from the side that surprised Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, when they also scored three times, though he introduced Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus midway through the final period.

Smooth Evening for the Team

It proved a flawless night for Nottingham Forest. The coach could take off Murillo with the game long since boxed off and later brought on 19-year-old defender Sinclair for his first-team debut. He talked about the Forest old guard providing “bits of gold” at regular meetings and, almost five decades on, the current crop showed they are able of a few nuggets of thrills, too.