Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Club | Played | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The English side struggled of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European football in a short period."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
