Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the protected 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and historical connections. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
