Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Live Updates
Key Events
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Pos | Team | Played | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
