Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and returned to the safety of playoff places.
| Pos | Side | P | Difference | 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
The English side clung on for the three points and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the midpoint of the group stage with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
