Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
These early results greatly affect the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the secure knockout positions.
| Position | Team | Played | GD | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging 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 drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in a short period."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
