Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League News
Live Updates
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the protected qualification spots.
| Position | Club | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the win and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have additional time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in a short period."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that summit, 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 Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.