Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
Current Table
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the secure knockout positions.
| Rank | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"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," commented the writer. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European football in a short period."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
