Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the secure playoff places.
| Rank | Team | P | 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 three points and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak 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)
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the officers and toward the field, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
This match is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the midpoint of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
