Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and regained position in the safety of playoff places.
| Position | Team | Matches | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the authorities and toward the field, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. 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 European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European football in a short period."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
