Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and More – Europa League Coverage
Live Updates
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Opening notes
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th position and returned to the safety of playoff places.
| Position | Side | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The Birmingham club struggled of that during the closing minutes.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: The German referee (German)
Starting Players
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European football in a short period."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.
