Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Pos | Club | Played | Goal Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
The English side clung on for the win and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
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 Hyun-jun, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a historical link, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving 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.
