Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and are back in the secure knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | 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
Villa managed to hold on for the win and went equal on points with leaders Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," 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 three seasons."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
