Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Current Table
These early results strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Position | Side | P | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Allard 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 mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European stage in just three years."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture 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 have been inactive since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the competition table at the half-way stage of the group stage with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
