Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | Played | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The Birmingham club had difficulty 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 additional time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
This match is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the middle of the group stage with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
