Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and returned to the secure playoff places.
| Pos | Side | P | GD | 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
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. 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 premier competition final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
