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“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” echoed through the stadium as Forest supporters celebrated a further success against Malmö. A great deal has transpired since Francis's decisive header clinched the European Cup back in the year 1979, but Forest still hold dear those memories. Equally, significant changes have taken place in the weeks since Sean Dyche assumed control, with the team appearing reinvigorated and securing a comfortable victory thanks to goals from Kalimuendo, Ryan Yates, and Nikola Milenkovic, boosting their prospects of progressing in the Europa League.

Gaining Momentum with Third Consecutive Victory

For Nottingham Forest, this performance – against a Swedish side that had been inactive for nearly a month after finishing in sixth place in their home competition – represented a third consecutive win across all competitions and further built on the momentum gained from the previous week's success at Liverpool. While this fixture was a re-run of Forest’s historic success in name, the encounter itself was free of any real jeopardy or nerves.

This was an occasion dripping in nostalgia, an longed-for meeting and the third competitive clash between the sides since the European Cup final 46 years ago.

The home side leaned into the heritage, paying tribute to the heroes of that era by giving them, along with their visiting counterparts, the red-carpet treatment. 13 members of the Swedish club’s squad from then were additionally in attendance. Both teams shared a dinner together before the match. Frank Clark, Colin Barrett and their teammates were given a rousing welcome when they assembled on the field 15 minutes before kick-off, and a characteristically superb tifo was unveiled in the Trent End.

Recalling History

“30th May 1979, Robertson crossed it in from the left,” read one part of a giant tifo, in capital letters. While nobody required a reminder of what ensued, the rest was revealed as the players came out from the tunnel. “And there’s Francis,” it continued. A second stunning tifo depicted Clough watching events beside his right-hand man Peter Taylor on a dugout at the Munich stadium.

Dominance from the Start

So, Forest had drunk in those beautiful recollections, but what about the showing on the evening? It was pretty good, too. They were in complete control from the moment Kalimuendo fired an effort wide inside two minutes and established a two-goal lead by the break. Nicolás Domínguez sent an early header wide and then Abbott, on his first European start, tried his luck.

It seemed appropriate that Ryan Yates, who joined Forest as an eight-year-old, made the first dent in the Malmö defense captained by their own homegrown captain, Jansson, previously of Leeds United and Brentford FC. The Forest centre-back Milenkovic saw a delivery cannon off a opponent and into the path of the midfielder, who finished right-footed from just inside the box to register his maiden strike since last March.

Another Goal Seals Control

Yates was involved in the team's next goal on the verge of the interval, as well, his unmarked header parried by the goalkeeper Ellborg but the alert forward on hand to tap in the rebound from point-blank range. McAtee, the midfielder given a rare start and only his second appearance since the autumn, was the spark, chipping a perfect ball towards Yates at the far post.

A minute earlier, Callum Hudson-Odoi low effort was turned aside off the defender Colin Rösler, the son of former Manchester City forward Uwe Rösler, and an unmarked the defender had previously had a strong header instinctively saved by the keeper, who was back in place of the former Aston Villa goalie Olsen.

Malmö’s Difficulties

This was Malmö’s initial game since the domestic league concluded on 9 November, and they found it hard to equal Forest’s energy. The Reds made it 3-0 when Milenkovic scored after his centre-back partner Murillo kept alive a corner. Yates had a volley blocked, but the Serbian centre-back Milenkovic pounced on the rebound.

The home side then went for the jugular, with Hudson-Odoi dinking 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, mindful of Sunday’s league game here against Brighton, made seven changes from the side that surprised the Reds at their ground recently, when they additionally scored three times, though he introduced substitutes and Igor Jesus midway through the final period.

Hiccup-Free Night for the Team

It proved a flawless evening for Forest. Dyche could take off the defender with the game already boxed off and later introduced 19-year-old full-back Jimmy Sinclair for his senior bow. Dyche talked about the Forest old guard supplying “bits of gold” at weekly get-togethers and, almost five decades on, the current crop demonstrated they are able of producing of thrills, too.