Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League News
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Position | Team | P | 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
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a historical link, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
