Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Current Table
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Rank | Side | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side struggled of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European stage in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers 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 initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
