Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the safety of playoff places.
| Pos | Side | P | Goal 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 table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the police and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final decades past that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
