Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and are back in the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Side | P | Goal Difference | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the police and at the playing surface, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in just three years."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent 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 qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
