Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
Latest Standings
These early results have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Matches | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting 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 early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings 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 earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
