Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – Europa League Updates
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Major Moments
- Full-time: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
League Position
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and regained position in the protected qualification spots.
| Pos | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the three points and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and at the playing surface, with the player being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, The defender, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Preamble
The European clash and memories of 1979. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," noted the journalist. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the earlier matches, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
