Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Pos | Side | Matches | Goal 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
The European clash and past encounters. The both teams have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in just three years."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, 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 haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
