Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores greatly affect the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the safety of playoff places.
| Rank | Side | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: Harm Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and historical connections. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.