Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the protected knockout positions.
| Pos | Side | Matches | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. Villa 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 score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage 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 advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
This match is a far cry from 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 the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team 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 last place of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
