Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Current Table
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the safety of playoff places.
| Position | Team | Played | Difference | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's double there caused dramatic events in the visitors' section, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Preamble
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," commented the writer. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since last month following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
