Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the protected playoff places.
| Position | Side | Played | Goal 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. The Birmingham club made hard work of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and toward the field, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
