Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Position | 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 went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European football in just three years."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the group stage with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
