Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Team | Played | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The English side made hard work of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and past encounters. The both teams have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the group stage with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
