Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Key Events
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the secure knockout positions.
| Rank | Club | Matches | GD | 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
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with visiting fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the police and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the revelry," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European football in just three years."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
