Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | Matches | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," commented the writer. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European football in just three years."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
This match is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.
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 Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
