Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the secure knockout positions.
| Pos | Side | Played | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
