Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Team | Matches | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
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 visitors' section, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and toward the field, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
