Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the safety of qualification spots.
| Position | Club | Played | GD | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston 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 triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the police and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: Harm Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
