Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Club | P | Goal 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 three points and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in a short period."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 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 English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
