Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and returned to the secure knockout positions.
| Rank | Team | P | Goal Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in a short period."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. 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 precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
