Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and returned to the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Team | Matches | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the three points and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa struggled of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
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 visitors' section, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the English side 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 half-way stage of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
