Nottingham Forest Secure Europa League Victory with 2-0 Win Over Malmö
Nottingham Forest marked a return to European competition with a 2-0 victory over Malmö in their Europa League Group D opener, fueled by a goal from Willy Boly and a second-half strike from Anthony Kalimuendo. The win at City Ground evoked nostalgic feelings for Forest supporters, recalling their European Cup triumphs of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Forest manager Sean Dyche highlighted notable improvements at both ends of the pitch since his arrival. “There was a lot of noise about both ends of the pitch when I got here,” Dyche said. “It was 20 games without a clean sheet and we’re correcting that slowly but surely, and they weren’t scoring from open play. All of a sudden we’ve corrected that. We’re scoring varied goals – not every goal can be a beautiful goal and I’ve spoken to the players about that. What about finding ugly goals, scraps in the box? To change the way you can score a goal is really, really crucial.”
The match saw Forest press for further goals, with callum Hudson-Odoi hitting the crossbar and Ibrahim Sangaré shooting wide from distance. Malmö, despite their efforts, were unable to find a response. Interim Malmö head coach Anes Mravac, who will join Middlesbrough’s coaching staff next month, praised the Forest supporters. “Our supporters were the best thing about us – they were trying to help us for the whole 90 minutes and were absolutely amazing,” Mravac said. “I’m sad we couldn’t give them more.”
