Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th place and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Side | Matches | Goal Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 three points and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
This match is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
