Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League News
Live Updates
Major Moments
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
League Position
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and regained position in the secure playoff places.
| Rank | Team | Played | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. The Birmingham club struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final decades past that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final 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 calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
This match is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. Rangers 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 group stage with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.