Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Position | Side | P | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the player being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v 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 from 1979 that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
