Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
The initial outcomes strongly influence the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and returned to the safety of qualification spots.
| Position | Side | Played | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The these sides 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 46 years ago that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent 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 chance of achieving a recovery for a qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
