Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League News
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Important Updates
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and regained position in the safety of knockout positions.
| Position | Club | Matches | 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 moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting 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 very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the half-way stage of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making 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 concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.