Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and are back in the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | Played | GD | 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 win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. Villa had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction 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 European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
