Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Team | P | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side struggled of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with visiting fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the police and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Match Background
The European clash and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in a short period."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.