Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of qualification spots.
| Position | Team | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The Birmingham club struggled of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in a short period."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
