Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Position | Team | P | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the win and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. The Birmingham club made hard work 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!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented 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 pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
This match is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage 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 qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
