Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Position | Side | Matches | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the authorities and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also facing each other 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 Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
