Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Full-time: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th position and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Rank | Club | Matches | Goal 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
Villa managed to hold on for the three points and moved level on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the competition table. The English side struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, meanwhile, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with visiting fans clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
The Reds: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, The full-back, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, unassuming and low-key amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to continental competition in a short period."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
