Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Live Feed
Major Moments
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Position | Side | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope 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 responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing 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 clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table 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 comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
