Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League News
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | P | Difference | 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 became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and toward the field, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and memories of 1979. The both teams have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
