Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Introduction
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | Played | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive 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 calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield 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 Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
