Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the protected playoff places.
| Position | Team | Matches | 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
Aston Villa secured for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the player being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis scoring the winner 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 quietly watching the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
