Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Updates
Live Feed
Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Opening notes
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and regained position in the safety of knockout positions.
| Position | Team | Matches | Goal 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for 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 previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
