Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Key Events
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Pos | Club | Played | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and toward the field, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: Victor, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
