Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Current Table
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the secure playoff places.
| Pos | Club | Matches | Goal Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
The English side clung on for the victory and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side had difficulty of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched 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, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Official: Lindhout (Holland)
Match Background
The European clash and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European stage in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action 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 middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
