Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
These early results strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | 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 win and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but had just additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game 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 quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
