Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | P | Difference | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
