Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of qualification spots.
| Position | Club | P | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the win and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, retained 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 Swiss fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the player being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory 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," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. 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 completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.