Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and are back in the secure playoff places.
| Pos | Club | Matches | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Official: Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to 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 have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
