Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and are back in the safety of qualification spots.
| Pos | Club | P | Goal Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 victory and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The English side struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory 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. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a very different to 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 Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
