Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Club | Matches | GD | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the police and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Harm Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European stage in just three years."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
