Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Club | Played | GD | 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 win and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: Victor, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status 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 revelry," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly 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 home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for 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 previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.