Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
League Position
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Team | Played | Difference | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side struggled 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 had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Preamble
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter 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 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
