Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Position | Club | Played | Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that at the end.
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 find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
