Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the secure knockout positions.
| Pos | Team | Matches | 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
The English side clung on for the victory and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but were left with additional time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and past encounters. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
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.
The current fixture is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
