Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the protected qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Played | Difference | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the three points and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown 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
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Referee: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and past encounters. The these sides have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in three seasons."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the middle of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want 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 most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
