Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Current Table
The initial outcomes strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and are back in the protected qualification spots.
| Rank | Team | Played | 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 victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Official: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 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 match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.