Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Current Table
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Club | P | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The English side struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but had just additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and memories of 1979. The both teams have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," commented the writer. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under British coach 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 haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the group stage with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
