Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Position | Side | Played | Difference | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the win and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The English side had difficulty of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in a short period."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match 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 that era. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
