Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
The opening scores have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the safety of playoff places.
| Position | Team | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The English side struggled 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 score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European football in just three years."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
