Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and are back in the safety of knockout positions.
| Pos | Team | Played | Goal 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
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 (Holland)
Match Background
The European clash and past encounters. The these sides have a special connection, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home 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 beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a recovery for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
