Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Side | P | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the win and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the player being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a historical link, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal 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 revelry," wrote the match reporter. This represented an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
