Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the protected playoff places.
| Position | Team | Matches | Goal 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
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa struggled of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
