Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
League Position
These early results have significant impact on the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Club | Matches | GD | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and past encounters. The these sides have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European stage in just three years."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting 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 played officially since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the middle of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want 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 evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
