Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and are back in the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | P | 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 went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, 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 caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Match official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 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 lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a playoff spot.
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 Feyenoord v Celtic.
