Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Team | Played | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the police and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
This match is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club 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 initial phase with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
