Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- 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: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Team | Matches | Goal 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with additional time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the authorities and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory 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 quietly watching the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
