Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | Matches | Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with visiting fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Official: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," commented the writer. This represented an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
