Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Side | Matches | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 win and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European football in a short period."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle 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 playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
