Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Pos | Club | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club 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 chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes 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, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Match Background
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team 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 middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
