Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League News
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Club | Matches | Goal Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 three points and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in a short period."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
