Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Club | Matches | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a chance 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 roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Villa, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the player being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the middle of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
