Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Position | Side | P | Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
This match is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the middle of the group stage with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
