Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- 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
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and are back in the safety of qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | Matches | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters engaging 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, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
