Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Position | Club | P | 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 victory and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European football 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 summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.