Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League News
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | P | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.