Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the safety of knockout positions.
| Position | Side | P | Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
The English side clung on for the victory and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in just three years."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
