Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the protected qualification spots.
| Position | Team | Matches | Goal 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
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," commented the writer. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
