Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | Played | Goal 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a special connection, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer 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 excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," commented the writer. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to 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 Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
