Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Side | P | GD | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa had difficulty of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Official: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the half-way stage of the group stage with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
