Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
The initial outcomes greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Team | Played | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, The striker.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
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 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in a short period."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
