Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the secure playoff places.
| 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
The English side clung on for the three points and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, held onto 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 opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
This match is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the midpoint of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a qualification place.
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 Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
