Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | P | GD | 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 three points and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club struggled of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.