Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
Current Table
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | Played | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club struggled of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with additional time to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European football in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
