Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
The initial outcomes greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | Played | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.