Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | Played | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the win and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa struggled of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the half-way stage 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.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
