Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes strongly influence the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the secure qualification spots.
| Position | Team | P | Goal 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Latest Action
The Birmingham side, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled 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: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European stage in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
