Arnaud Kalimuendo scored his first Nottingham Forest goal in a comfortable 3-0 Europa League home win over Malmo as the club’s revival under Sean Dyche continues.
Forest followed up Saturday’s impressive 3-0 success at reigning Premier League champions Liverpool with another goal-laden win to make it three consecutive victories in all competitions.
The win over the Swedes also boosts Forest’s hopes of qualifying for the Europa League knockout stages, as they climbed up to 16th in the table and are just two points off the top eight.
Forest’s thrashing of Malmo was extra special too, with this fixture a rerun of the 1979 European Cup final in Munich, which saw Brian Clough’s side win 1-0 in the most famous night of the club’s history.
Members of that Forest side were presented at the City Ground before kick-off, so it was fitting that one of the club’s modern heroes, Ryan Yates, opened the scoring with a 27th-minute sweeping first-time strike.
Summer signing Kalimuendo is a player hoping to be a future Forest star, and the 23-year-old, who joined from Rennes in a deal worth around £25m, finally opened his account on his 10th appearance.
The Frenchman was alert to finish off from close range in the 44th minute after Yates’ header was superbly saved by Malmo goalkeeper Melker Ellborg – and the Forest captain was delighted for the striker.
He joked to TNT Sports: “I’m gutted because I should’ve scored my second!
Ryan Yates celebrates opening the scoring in Forest’s 3-0 win over Malmo
“No, honestly, we’re really buzzing for him. The hard work he’s putting in for the team, the unselfish runs.
“There are a lot of unsung heroes in this team, and he’s certainly one of them, and he thoroughly deserves that.”
Yates was also involved in Forest’s 59th-minute third as his volley at a corner fell to Nikola Milenkovic, and he smashed home for his first goal of the season.
Forest, who are now on a five-game unbeaten run, coasted home as they turn their attentions to Sunday’s Premier League home game against Brighton, live on Sky Sports.
Sunday 30th November 12:30pm
Kick off 2:05pm
Dyche pleased to back up impressive Liverpool victory
Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche speaking to TNT Sports on his confidence of qualifying for the knockout stages:
“Well, I mean it’s certainly looking up.
“I thought we delivered a strong performance out at Sturm [Graz]. We didn’t get the goal that we needed, but it was a very strong performance.
“It’s good to come back here, especially after the Liverpool win that makes a lot of noise, but then to back it up with that performance and win, that’s the main thing for me, just keep with that constant mentality of coming in here, particularly here because of the crowd and the fan base and the way they back the team, and keep that consistency to our performances.
“It takes care of itself, you take care of each game, it takes care of itself.”
Nottingham Forest’s Nikola Milenkovic (left) celebrates scoring the third with Yates
On the win: “Very pleased. I thought defensively we were excellent and they didn’t really lay a glove on us, which was a credit to the back five – the goalkeeper and the back four did a very good job. And it sets the tone for the performance; a bit of a slow start, but they camped in, and that can be hard to break down.
“But overall, really pleased with the players and the squad mentality is really clear tonight, we’re going to need that going forwards.”
A nostalgic night at the City Ground in pictures…
A banner celebrating Trevor Francis’s winner in the 1979 European Cup final
A banner of ex-Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough (left) with assistant Peter Taylor who guided the club to the 1979 European Cup triumph
Former Nottingham Forest and Malmo players from the 1979 European Cup final before kick-off
Opta facts: Forest’s largest European win in 46 years
- Nottingham Forest recorded their biggest margin of victory in a major European game since beating Grasshopper Club Zurich 4-1 in the European Cup back in March 1979.
- Nottingham Forest have won three consecutive games in all competitions, having won just two of their first 15 matches this season (D5 L8).
- Following wins against Leeds (3-1), Liverpool (3-0) and this evening game Malmo (3-0), Nottingham Forest have scored 3+ goals in three consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since February 2015 (Dougie Freedman’s first 4 games in charge), doing so as a top-flight side for the first time since April 1995 (4 in a row under Frank Clark).
- For just the second time in his managerial career, Sean Dyche has seen one of his sides score 3+ goals in three consecutive games, with the previous instance coming while in charge of Burnley in January 2016.
