Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the safety of playoff places.
| Rank | Side | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European football in just three years."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a qualification place.
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.
