Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the secure playoff places.
| Pos | Side | 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 became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Aston Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to continental competition in a short period."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
