Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
Current Table
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the safety of knockout positions.
| Pos | Club | P | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool 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 smart money is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
