Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Live Updates
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Current Table
The initial outcomes greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and historical connections. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
