Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the safety of knockout positions.
| Position | Side | Played | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The these sides have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 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 secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry 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 played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist 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.
