Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and More – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Final whistle: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Introduction
League Position
The initial outcomes greatly affect the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and returned to the secure playoff places.
| Position | Side | Played | Goal 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and projectiles hurled at both the police and toward the field, with the goalscorer being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and past encounters. The both teams have a special connection, also competing in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the celebrations," commented the writer. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They badly want a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including the Birmingham match and Feyenoord v Celtic.