Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Team | 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
Aston Villa secured for the win and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
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, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the police and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.