Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and returned to the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | Matches | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The Birmingham club struggled of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
One should note 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.
This match is a very different to that peak, 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 end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the middle of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
