Arnaud Kalimuendo scored his first Nottingham Forest goal as the club followed up a high-profile victory at Liverpool with a comfortable 3-0 Europa League home win over Malmo, extending Sean Dyche’s revival to three successive wins in all competitions. The result moved Forest up to 16th in the group and within two points of the top eight, keeping their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
Team news: Dyche made seven changes from the side that beat Liverpool on Saturday, with only Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Dominguez retaining their places. Teenage defender Zach Abbott was given his first start of the season, while Morgan Gibbs-White was absent from the matchday squad.
The contest carried a nostalgic note, as members of the Forest team that won the 1979 European Cup were presented at the City Ground before kick-off. Ryan Yates opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a sweeping first-time strike, a timely moment amid the tributes to that era.
Kalimuendo, the 23-year-old summer signing from Rennes for around £25m, finally found the net on his 10th appearance. He reacted quickest to finish from close range in the 44th minute after Yates’ header was superbly denied by Malmo goalkeeper Melker Ellborg. Yates celebrated the striker’s persistence and credited his unselfish movement and work rate.
The third goal arrived in the 59th minute after another set-piece sequence: Yates volleyed from a corner and the ball fell to Nikola Milenkovic, who smashed home his first goal of the season. Forest sealed the win without serious alarm and now carry momentum into Sunday’s Premier League clash with Brighton.
Dyche praised the defensive display, saying he was very pleased with how compact and disciplined the team were, and that the back five and goalkeeper had done a very good job. He added that backing up the Liverpool result with another solid performance was important for belief and progression in the Europa League.
Opta highlights:
– Forest recorded their biggest winning margin in a major European match since a 4-1 victory over Grasshopper Club Zurich in March 1979.
– This is Forest’s third straight win in all competitions after a poor start to the season that produced just two wins from their first 15 matches.
– After scoring 3-1 v Leeds, 3-0 v Liverpool and 3-0 v Malmo, Forest have netted 3+ goals in three consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since February 2015, and as a top-flight side for the first time since April 1995.
– For the second time in his managerial career Dyche has overseen a side scoring 3+ goals in three straight matches, the previous instance coming with Burnley in January 2016.
Forest are now focused on their next fixture: a Premier League home match against Brighton at the City Ground on Sunday.