Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and returned to the secure knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The English side struggled of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with visiting fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the police and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
