Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | 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
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, at the same time, maintained 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 visiting fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, 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 haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
