Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of qualification spots.
| Pos | Side | Matches | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. 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 lifeline through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory 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 serenely viewing the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie 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 played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the middle of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
