Nottingham Forest 3-0 Malmo: Report, result and goals as Tricky Trees breeze to victory

Nottingham Forest strengthened their Europa League campaign with a commanding 3-0 win over Malmo at the City Ground.

From the first whistle, the hosts imposed their superiority and by half-time they were coasting, with Malmo struggling to register any meaningful threat across the 90 minutes.

Forest settled quickly, dominating possession and territory even without carving out clear openings early on.

Kalimuendo dragged wide inside five minutes before Dominguez headed narrowly wide from close range two minutes later, and the tone for the half was set.

Malmo were content to hold shape and remain compact, though their lack of attacking presence was pretty clear.

Their only shot of the half came through Haksabanovic in the seventh minute, which was a comfortable claim for Victor.

Gradually Forest increased the tempo. Abbott, McAtee and Hudson-Odoi all probed the Malmo goal, while Milenkovic went close with a free header that Ellborg gathered.

Pressure finally told on 27 minutes when a deflected cross from Milenkovic fell kindly into the path of Ryan Yates, who guided a finish low into the corner.

Hudson-Odoi came closest to doubling the lead, cutting inside and firing narrowly wide with a deflected strike that spun past the post.

The second goal arrived moments before the break. Kalimuendo reacted quickest when Ellborg brilliantly parried a Yates header from McAtee’s corner, sweeping home from close range to mark his first Forest goal.

Second half

The interval brought no immediate changes, though within minutes Malmo were forced into action as Bolin limped off after an awkward landing.

The pattern remained unchanged. Forest controlled tempo, circulated possession and continued to threaten. On 58 minutes the third goal finally arrived from another corner. Yates’ volley was diverted into the path of Milenkovic, who finished from close range.

A lengthy VAR review upheld the decision and the hosts were out of sight.

Sean Dyche used the cushion to rotate, handing debuts and minutes across the squad. Anderson, Jesus, Ndoye and Sinclair all entered, though the latter’s introduction was marred by a late booking.

Hudson-Odoi struck the bar soon after the restart, while Malmo’s struggles continued. By the 80 minute mark their passing accuracy in Forest’s half sat at just over 11 percent, with only two entries into the final third and no attempts since the opening stages.

The closing minutes drifted by. Abbott, Yates and Anderson were cautioned late on, while substitute Lewicki replaced Skogmar and Berg came on for Haksabanovic.

A final effort from Williams was gathered comfortably by Ellborg, and four added minutes passed without any major drama as the hosts picked up all three points.