Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the safety of knockout positions.
| Position | Club | Matches | GD | 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 moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. Villa had difficulty of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the authorities and toward the field, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
