Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Current Table
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Side | Played | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 win and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, 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 visitors' section, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
