Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the safety of playoff places.
| Rank | Team | Played | Goal 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the win and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, held onto 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 clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
This match is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
