Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th place and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with additional time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Official: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory 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 serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
