Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
League Position
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and are back in the safety of qualification spots.
| Position | Club | P | Goal 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
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, The striker.
Referee: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European football in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball 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 live coverage. The Scottish side have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
