Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
Current Table
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | Played | GD | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just additional time to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, maintained 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 away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the police and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Harm Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing the English forward scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
