Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and returned to the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | Played | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
