Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Pos | Team | 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
The English side clung on for the win and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final decades past that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the midpoint of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery 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 the Dutch-Scottish clash.
