Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Played | 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
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in a short period."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
