🔗 Share this article

“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” rang out through the City Ground as Nottingham Forest fans celebrated a further success against Malmö. A great deal has happened since Francis's winning header clinched the European Cup in 1979, but the club still cherish those memories. Equally, significant shifts have occurred in the weeks since the manager assumed control, with Forest looking refreshed and earning a convincing win thanks to goals from Arnaud Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Nikola Milenkovic, enhancing their prospects of progressing in the European competition.

Building Momentum with Another Consecutive Win

For Forest, this performance – against a Malmö side that had been inactive for almost three weeks after finishing sixth in their home competition – represented a third straight triumph across all competitions and added to the momentum gained from the previous week's success at Anfield. While this match was a reminder of the club's historic triumph in name, the encounter itself was free of any significant 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 46 years ago.

The home side leaned into the heritage, honoring the legends of 1979 by giving them, along with their Malmö opponents, the VIP welcome. Thirteen members of the Swedish club’s squad from that time were also in attendance. Both teams shared a dinner together before the match. Frank Clark, Colin Barrett and their teammates received a tumultuous reception when they assembled on the field a quarter of an hour before the start, and a characteristically impressive display was shown in the Trent End.

Recalling the Past

“30th May 1979, John Robertson delivered the ball from the left flank,” displayed one part of a large banner, in block capitals. While nobody required a reminder of what happened next, the rest was unfurled as the squads emerged from the tunnel. “And there’s Francis,” it stated. A second stunning display depicted Clough observing proceedings 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 recollections, but what about the showing on the evening? It was impressive, too. They were in complete control from the moment the forward whistled an effort off target inside two minutes and established a 2-0 advantage by the break. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header off target and then Zach Abbott, on his first European start, had a go.

It felt fitting that Yates, who joined the club as an eight-year-old, made the first dent in the visitors' defence led by their own homegrown skipper, Pontus Jansson, formerly of Leeds United and Brentford FC. The home defender Nikola Milenkovic saw a cross deflect off a defender and into the path of the midfielder, who finished right-footed from the edge of the penalty area to register his first goal since March.

Another Goal Seals Dominance

Yates was involved in Forest’s next goal on the verge of the interval, as well, his unmarked header saved by the goalkeeper Ellborg but Kalimuendo poised to tap in the rebound from point-blank range. James McAtee, the midfielder given a seldom start and only his second outing since September, was the catalyst, lofting a perfect ball towards Yates at the far post.

A minute earlier, Hudson-Odoi’s driven shot was turned wide off Malmö back Rösler, son of ex- Man City forward Uwe, and an free Milenkovic also previously had a powerful header instinctively saved by Ellborg, who was back in place of the former Aston Villa goalie Robin Olsen.

Opponent's Struggles

This was Malmö’s initial game since the Swedish Allsvenskan ended on 9 November, and they struggled to match Forest’s energy. The Reds extended the lead to three when the defender scored after his centre-back partner Murillo kept alive a corner. Yates had a shot stopped, but the Serbia defender Milenkovic pounced on the leftovers.

Forest then pushed for more, with Hudson-Odoi dinking a effort on to the crossbar before Sangaré sent an optimistic shot off target from 30 yards. It was one of those nights. The manager, mindful of Sunday’s domestic fixture here against Brighton & Hove Albion, made multiple alterations from the side that surprised Liverpool at their ground recently, when they additionally netted three goals, though he introduced Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and further fresh legs during the final period.

Hiccup-Free Evening for the Team

It turned out to be a hiccup-free evening for Forest. The coach could withdraw Murillo with the match long since boxed off and subsequently brought on 19-year-old defender Sinclair for his senior bow. He talked about the Forest old guard supplying “valuable insights” at weekly get-togethers and, nearly fifty years on, the present squad demonstrated they are capable of a few nuggets of excitement, too.