Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Live Feed
Key Events
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and are back in the protected qualification spots.
| Position | Team | Played | 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 became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. The these sides have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club 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 group stage with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
