Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
League Position
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Pos | Side | P | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
