Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and returned to the safety of playoff places.
| Rank | Side | P | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in three seasons."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
