Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and toward the field, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: Harm Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
