Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Current Table
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Team | P | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the three points and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top 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 gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to reach the final under manager Houghton.
This match is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
