Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Current Table
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the safety of playoff places.
| Position | Side | 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 leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
The European clash and historical connections. The these sides 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 from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
This match is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
