Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | P | Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 win and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
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!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the police and toward the field, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. 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 European Cup final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to make the championship match 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 the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
