Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the secure playoff places.
| Pos | Side | Matches | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club struggled of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly 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 smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
