Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Team | 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 became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club struggled of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. 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 general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
