Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Current Table
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and returned to the protected qualification spots.
| Position | Side | Matches | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"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 mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. 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 Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
