Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
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Important Updates
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
The opening scores strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | Team | Played | GD | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on 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.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the authorities and onto the pitch, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and past encounters. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final 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 quietly watching the mafficking," noted the journalist. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to continental competition in just three years."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the end of the Swedish league season. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the initial phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.