Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to 17th place and regained position in the safety of playoff places.
| Rank | Club | Played | Difference | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: The German referee (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a historical link, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, 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 calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry 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 Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings 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 qualification place.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
