Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Current Table
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Side | Matches | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa struggled of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. 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 from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the middle of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
