Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League News
Live Updates
Key Events
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Current Table
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the secure knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | Matches | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side had difficulty of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the player being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a historical link, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the middle of the league phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
