Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | Matches | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but had just 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, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Aston Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the police and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," commented the writer. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
