Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and are back in the safety of playoff places.
| Pos | Team | 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 |
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 top of the group rankings. Villa struggled of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory 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 calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground 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 clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
