Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Current Table
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the protected playoff places.
| Position | Team | P | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European stage in just three years."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table 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 comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
