Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
League Position
These early results have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and returned to the safety of playoff places.
| Rank | Side | Played | Goal Difference | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. 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 Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the middle of the group stage with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.