Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League News
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Full-time: 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
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
League Position
These early results have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the safety of knockout positions.
| Position | Club | P | 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 win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also competing 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 Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
