Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Current Table
The initial outcomes greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Position | Team | Matches | 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
Aston Villa secured for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool 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 general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
