Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the safety of playoff places.
| Pos | Team | Matches | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and past encounters. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
