Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and are back in the safety of playoff places.
| Rank | Club | Played | Difference | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the win and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The English side made hard work 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 had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston 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 visitors' section, with visiting fans engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Match Background
The European clash and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, 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. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in just three years."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
