Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | P | Goal 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just additional time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
