Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | Played | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Villa managed to hold on for the win and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. The English side struggled of that at the end.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the player being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The these sides have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis netting the decisive goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
This match is a far cry from that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
