Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Team | P | Difference | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the win and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
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, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and historical connections. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European football in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. 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 conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
