Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and are back in the secure knockout positions.
| Position | Side | Played | 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 three points and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The English side had difficulty of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
This match is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
