Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Key Events
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | Played | Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the three points and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing the English forward scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," commented the writer. This represented an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European stage in just three years."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
