Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Rank | Team | P | GD | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with visiting fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs 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 Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
This match is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
