Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
Current Table
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and regained position in the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | P | GD | 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 leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the police and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to continental competition in a short period."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing 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 popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
