Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Played | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and toward the field, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour 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 pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield 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 match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
