Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and are back in the secure knockout positions.
| Position | Side | Matches | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa struggled of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest 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 competition table at the middle of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
