Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Played | GD | 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 went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the police and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in a short period."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
This match is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
