Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Side | Played | Goal 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 three points and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with visiting fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," commented the writer. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European football in a short period."
Worth mentioning 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.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
