Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League News
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Key Events
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of playoff places.
| Position | Club | P | 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
The English side clung on for the win and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. Villa struggled 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 were left with additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with 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 plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
