Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League News
Live Updates
Key Events
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and are back in the secure knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | P | GD | 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 victory and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Harm Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"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. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive 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 clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
