Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | Played | Goal Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 victory and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the officers and toward the field, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.