Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and regained position in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Club | Played | Difference | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, The defender, Morato, Yates, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: The goalkeeper, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the premier competition final decades past that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward scoring the winner of a largely forgettable match to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, modestly dressed amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to make the championship match under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the late games and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
