Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the secure knockout positions.
| Pos | Team | Matches | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and past encounters. The these sides have a special connection, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
