Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Latest Standings
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the three points and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. The English side made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action 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 exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
