Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Current Table
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Position | Club | Played | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtjylland | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 | Freiburg | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Ferencvaros | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | FC Porto | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 17 | Celtic | 5 | -1 | 7 |
| 25 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 35 | Rangers | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| 33 | Malmo FF | 4 | -5 | 1 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa struggled of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
