Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | P | Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa struggled of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," commented the writer. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
