Forest vs Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Match Coverage
Key Events
- 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
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
League Position
The initial outcomes greatly affect the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and returned to the protected playoff places.
| Pos | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club struggled of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and toward the field, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, The striker.
Referee: Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from the lower league to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.
This match is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
