Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News
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Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results strongly influence the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the protected playoff places.
| Rank | Side | Matches | GD | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the three points and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the goalscorer being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, The defender, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an remarkable feat that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European stage in just three years."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. 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 middle of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.