Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the secure playoff places.
| Rank | Club | Matches | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Aston Villa secured for the three points and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. 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 European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory 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 calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield 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. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the group stage with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
