Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and regained position in the secure playoff places.
| Rank | Team | Matches | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The English side struggled of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with visiting fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: The German referee (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
