Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | Played | 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
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The Birmingham club struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and past encounters. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
