Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and regained position in the safety of playoff places.
| Position | Side | Played | 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
Aston Villa secured for the three points and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top 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 earned a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Referee: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
This match 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 thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the midpoint of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
